Markings
by LoorTheDarkElf
Summary: Death is a powerful thing. The threat of death can drive you, the thought of death and freeze you, and the need for revenge by someone else's death can be the beginnings of insanity... for anyone.
1. Death at a Bloody Edge

Holy shit, I'm working on a fanfiction that's not Jak and Daxter. Wow… oh well, breaking into the Naruto fandom, I'm not going to say much. This is NOT AU because I can't write it worth a damn, so yeah, this is another one of those crossovers where two earth people end up in Naruto world. Don't worry. It won't suck. Don't believe me? I've done this before people; I know how to avoid Mary-Sues and all the other crap people hate.

So, without gilding the lily and with no more ado, I bring you **Markings!**

**I don't own Naruto. I do own Loor, and my buddy on FF owns Fury. Live with it.**

On  
With  
The  
Fic.

OWTF!!!

**Markings- Chapter One  
****Death at a Bloody Edge**

Dark figures faced off, two of them, over a black landscape of grass and trees. There was nothing in this darkness, nothing but the silence and the cloud cover that ripped all light away from the senses. These two figures, both female, were tense, ready. One, built strong, stood head on, legs wide, knees slightly bent, arms down, ready for anything. The other, built fast, stood to the side, low, ready.

A slight wind stirred between them, a warm summer breeze that rustled the grass. In this breeze, the strong one jumped to the side, the grass's movement masking her own, freezing as the wind died, waiting for her opportunity after her adversary noticed she had moved. It was so obvious that the fast one was still trying to use her eyes in an area where they were useless. It would have made the strong one laugh, had she not been focused on stealth. Her long weapon was in hand, in front of her, waiting to be used, waiting for a second breeze to bid her closer to her opponent.

Seconds ticked past, changing to moments.

The fast built one was also waiting, following a taught training that she had known for a long time; to never make the first move. So she waited, waited for the other one to move.

The breeze came again, making her push her hair out of her useless jade eyes, sighing slightly, getting annoyed with how long this was taking. "Where are you...?" She questioned, quietly.

"Right behind you."

She yelped, falling down before rolling on her knees, away, backing up, getting her short weapons better held in her hands. The other one was done waiting now, the grass marking her movements with its noise as she charged like a bull. The fast one hardly had time to block, the weapons cracking against each other, two small ones in the weaker hands, and a single long one in the stronger hands. The block was pushed back, making her fall again, on her back, but she flipped a foot up, catching the strong one in the stomach to push her beyond before the weapon could touch her smaller body. "Not so fast..."

She hardly heard her stronger partner land, the breeze masking her as she moved away. In the darkness, a single beam of moonlight shot through the breaking clouds, making the stronger of the two open her blazing blue eyes. They shined, fully able to see the landscape and her thin built partner. In turn, jade greeted the blue, her short weapons coming up as she came to her feet.

"Show me your skill!" The blue hissed, starting to circle, the wind picking up, the grass rustling, the moon coming in stronger, the full round shape exposed for the time being. "What have I taught you?"

Those jade eyes moved quickly, taking in her situation. She was the student, yes, but she had learned a lot over the last three months... more than her master knew, maybe. Her eyes took in the shapes of trees behind the sharp blue eyes that were glaring at her, long grass between them, knowing there was a thin line trees behind herself as well. Maybe... the trees could be used to her advantage.

"Everything!" The jade finally answered, sprinting for the trees, going wide of the female she was fighting. At once, the blue went into the woods as well, and they were blind again, the moon overtaken by clouds once more. The blue was smirking, knowing the woods like the back of her hand. This was her home. She also knew her student's plan, and had a plan of her own. She could hear the jade crashing about, feeling the trees and trying to get her bearing, but she found one tree in particular, putting her weapon on her back and climbing up a ways, getting to a particular branch, and waiting. Sure as a cat to catnip, the jade came, feeling a mark on the tree and quickly finding the hand holds, climbing up a little, not far off of the ground.

The trap she was trying to set was an interesting one at best. The jade expected the blue to come by and not see her in the dark, and be able to jump down and attack.

In that same dark, she did not see the blue above her, hanging upside down from the branch, weapon out. She said nothing, whacking the jade in the back, knocking her down, and letting herself down into close quarters.

"You depend too much on your eyes." The blue criticized. "Feel your enemy. I must breathe, my body puts off heat, and in that heat there is sweat that you can smell. Use those senses, senses that are not daunted by the dark."

"I'm trying!" The jade growled back, rubbing the back of her head in pain. That hit hurt.

"Stop licking your wounds and come at me."

The jade growled, and jumped at her master, weapons ready and forward. Once in front, she went to the side, going to get her stomach while moving away from an anticipated blow that never came. Instead, the blue used her long weapon to fend off the short one, pivoting and smacking her student in the behind, much like rowing a boat. The jade yelped.

"That hurt!" She snarled, sounding angry. Seconds later, she came again, head down, and the master dropped her weapon, grabbing the jade's head and throwing her aside by that hold, hearing the body colliding with the ground. "Ow!"

"It's supposed to hurt... did you think I'd go easy on you, little sister?"

"Onee-san, we're just sparring!"

Onee-san meant 'big sister.' Slowly turning her head, the elder sister smirked as the moon came back, lighting spots that were not blocked by the trees all around. "And I will be serious with sparring. Besides... I hardly hit you."

The younger sister was still on the ground, dressed in blue jeans and a short-sleeved shirt, since the nighttime weather was still nice at the end of the summer. Twelve at best, her jade eyes contrasted wonderfully with her chocolate brown hair that feel past her shoulders, a silver streak in the bangs lining her face. The silver was her birthmark, not dye. Her bright jade eyes glared at her big sister, getting up and wiping pine needles off of her pants. "You shouldn't hit your friends like that..." She huffed. "Someday, Loor, you're gonna hurt someone."

Loor, as she was named, simply smirked at her little sister/best friend. They weren't really sisters, but Loor didn't so much as make new friends but adopt people. Also twelve, though she'd be an early thirteen the next day, Loor was built like she acted; tough. Her sharp blue eyes stuck out well against her slightly tanned skin, wearing a sports bra, because she was an early bloomer, and night pants. "Fury, I've hurt a lot of people already." Loor snickered. "Did you forget that everyone at school is afraid of me?"

Fury snorted, getting up and putting her short wooden practice weapons through her belt loops. "Whatever... but you know I can't hit you like that, so why do you hit me like that?"

Loor started to walk, jerking her head to show that she wanted her sister to follow, as if she wouldn't, picking up her wooden stave, which was basically a well polished four-foot long stick, and lacing it through the back of her bra to carry. "You refuse to hit me at all because you're my friend. I was hoping to make you angry enough so that you'd make a real attempt and wouldn't hesitate. Remember Fury; sometimes, you have to fight your friends."

Fury laughed slightly. "Yeah, sure, maybe in some other funky dimension, but not here." She folded her hands behind her head, looking up at the sky as they got to the path that would take them back to Loor's house, where she was spending the night. "In this world, the only thing we have to worry about is getting through seventh grade."

"And all the other grades after that." Loor returned glumly. "School is so boring!" She growled, copying what Fury had done, looking up as the clouds had left the sky, showing bright stars and the full moon. "I wish I knew how to get to some other world where you could still fight! Wouldn't it be awesome...?" She hefted a dreamy sigh. "Then all my training would actually be for something. Around here, all it's good for is scaring boys off."

"You know, Loor, maybe you should stop trying to scare them off." Fury suggested, giggling.

"Hey, just because you hate being single doesn't mean I do. I swore myself off of romance, remember?"

"Yeah, before or after Ender took you back last year?"

"After I dumped his ass, fed up he never stopped talking about how much better guys are than girls at 'particular things' no matter how many times I wiped the floor with him." Loor growled. "Fucking sexist."

"Whatever, we're gonna get back to school, and then that underage perv I know all too well is gonna start acting up. I think you were eying Steven last year, weren't you?"

Loor glared at Fury. "One, Steven was eying the fact that I was the first kid in school to have breasts, and two, he's Sig's boyfriend. No touchy."

"Oh, so you like him, huh?"

Loor resisted her sudden urge to clock her sister over the head with her stave. "I'll say he's cute, but I'm off it. Done. No more. They're just petty emotions anyway; all they do is get in the way of the stuff I really want."

"Like?"

"Well, for one, this year, I'd like to get through this year without lying."

Fury snickered. "Well, boyfriend or no boyfriend, I doubt that's going to happen."

"Thank you captain obvious." Loor quipped back, stretching her arms over her head and looking forward. The path had gone from her own extensive and woodsy back yard, bent around, and was now directed at her house. The barrier between the main yard and what everyone called 'the back line' was a small stream that the path was just about to go over, a land bridge over it with a culvert to allow the water to flow through. Beyond that was more long grass with no actual path, and then the well kept lawn that surrounded the house that Loor's father had painted Vikings colors; purple and yellow. The house was, from the back, three floors, though the bottom floor was split between below and above ground in the front, only fully out of the ground in the back. This was the floor that Loor lived on.

The two girls came to the house quickly, in silence. Loor was aiming for her open window, her windows facing the path to the back line, on ground level. It was a long time ago that she had taken the screen out of one of the windows so she could sneak out at night and train herself for a fight that would never come. Obviously, her parents did not condone such an action, and thus she had to be careful coming and going to make sure her nighttime escape wasn't discovered.

Fury and Loor were mere feet from the window when Loor stopped, holding a hand up.

She didn't know what it was, but something felt odd in her mind. Something felt very odd indeed. Fury seemed to notice whatever she was feeling, and Loor stood up straight, looking to the back of the house, as if she could hear something around the corner.

"Fury... go inside, wait for me." Loor whispered, pulling her weapon from her makeshift holster.

"No!" Fury hissed back. "I'm going with you!"

Loor glared at her for a few moments, and then sighed. "Stay behind me." She finally gave, going to the corner of the house, slowly, bent low. She felt a need for caution, and froze as she heard the sliding back door open and close. Someone had just gone into the house. She waited for a few seconds, hearing her mother's dog Smoky barking up a storm. He was a pure bred Chow-Chow, and thus would protect the household with a sharp set of teeth.

Loor was curious and frightened as the dog suddenly stopped barking.

She felt her heart against her rib cage, and Fury had grabbed her hand as if to say 'let's run. Let's go.' Loor shook her head though. If there was a threat in the house, it was her job to see to it that threat was gotten rid of or taken care of. She moved forward, losing Fury's hand and going around the corner of the house, seeing the stairs to the deck looking normal, the deck that connected to the back door for the main level sound with no one on it. Whoever was in the house had no lookout, an essential to most people who broke into homes and stole stuff.

So this person wasn't a thief?

Loor moved quickly to the stairs up, crawling them like a prowling cat, her breath quiet, and her tread light. Her eyes tried to pierce the dark of the house without stepping onto the deck, and caught a fleck of movement. Someone was in there all right. She moved to the last step of the stairs, the step before she would stand to rush whomever this person was, when a light came on inside the house.

At the top of the stairs for the upper floor, Loor saw her mother.

The woman was Loor's idol; built like an ox with serious brown eyes, tan skin, and black hair that was cropped short. The woman, seeing as it was the middle of the night, was in her undergarments, looking to have just rolled out of bed to the sound of the dog barking.

Loor watched her mother's eyes stray down to the main floor. When she looked, her heart stopped.

On the main floor were two men, it would seem. One, slightly taller than the other, had long black hair and a strange outfit that looked to come from Japan, the tie around the middle a huge purple bow looking to be made from thick rope. The shorter one had silver hair in a pony and a purple outfit with a white wrap around the middle.

At their feet lay Smoky, the dog looking to be... sliced in half. Blood was everywhere, including on the end of a sword that the long black haired man had.

_Sword?_

Fury had managed to get a look, sensing that something was wrong when Loor stopped, and saw what Loor saw. At once, she grabbed her friend again, trying to get her to run, but Loor couldn't move. If she could, she would have pounced upon those men, stave held high. But no, Loor was frozen in fear, heart in her throat.

Loor's mother seemed to have started yelling at the man, though Loor was deaf in her condition, when her mother had such a voice that it would seem no barrier would stop it. In a few seconds, Loor's father joined Loor's mother. He was a slightly round man, and he looked very angry. He had just made it to the top of the stairs as Loor's mother was rushing down them, a fist drawn back; ready to beat these men till Kingdom Come.

Cold shot through Loor's body as she watched that sword flash out again, the man turning in his follow through.

Both her parents were killed in a single swipe, and the blood covered the door so that Loor could no longer see through the glass.

That was it...

Loor stood up, roaring out something she didn't know, probably crying too, though she'd never admit it. She was calling out these men, her heart on fire with rage. Fury was below on the stairs, staring in fear, probably just as frozen as Loor had been.

The lights went off, and both girls were plunged into the dark as the clouds had covered the moon once more. Loor didn't care, her other senses taking over, fighting her insane need to be sick.

A few people knew this about Loor; piss her off, and her mind snapped into a very primal state where there were only two modes; scream, and kill.

Loor just watched her parents die... she was pissed off.

A moment later, the door opened. It was anyone's guess what these men looked like, far too dark to see them. Loor had aborted even trying, closing her eyes.

"Look, another one..." One of them hissed, sounding like a snake gone man. "What do you think...?"

"We should be getting back, Lord-"

"Shh, we will... in due time, but I'm having fun."

Loor was panting, and turned to the side to make herself a smaller target, holding her weapon ready. "Which one of you just killed my parents?!"

She could hear air whistling around the sword, but it was a fake swing, meant to scare her. She didn't move. "That would be me." The snake-like man hissed, pointing himself as the man with the long black hair.

"You're going to pay!" She roared at him.

Something of what she said amused him. He was laughing. "I'm going to play with you!"

Seconds later, something hit Loor, and she had no idea what the hell it was. It was warm, and slimy, and it sent her off the edge of the deck, over the railing, and knocked her weapon out of her hand. When she landed, she landed hard, getting the wind knocked out of her. Still, she didn't let it stop her, getting up quickly, wheezing, and trying to figure out where that guy was.

"Peek-a-boo." He teased.

He was behind her!

"How did you-"

He whacked her again before she could question how he moved so quickly. She fell, crying out, coughing. She could hear Fury yelling something, but had no idea what. Getting up, she tried to figure where he would come next, and jumped away from the first sound she heard...

To collide with another body.

"And now you die!"

Loor froze, feeling the cold edge of a blade against her neck, but they both froze as the sound of a door opening greeted everyone's ears.

"Loor! Fury?!"

"What's going on??!"

Loor whimpered. Those voices were her real brother and sister, her elder siblings...

"Paul! Ann! RUN!" She screamed, trying to yank away from this snake man, crying. "Get away! They'll kill you!"

"Loor!" Loor heard her brother yelling for her. "Stay there, we're coming!"

"No!" Loor cried back. "Get Fury and go! The killer is right here!"

The man holding her seemed to laugh, leaning by her ear. "Trying to save what's left of your family?" He whispered as Loor's sister Ann started yelling, trying to figure out where their sister was. "How... noble. Too bad, you're not powerful enough to save them."

"Loor! Where are you!?" Ann yelled. Loor didn't dare answer, seeing as this man would lay in wait to kill them first. She whimpered, still trying to struggle away, but he had a grip like iron.

"She's dead!"

Loor gasped as the man shouted. So her plan of keeping them safe wouldn't work. Paul was hard headed, and Ann would be right after him.

"You bastard!" She heard Paul bark back, and she could hear his footsteps on the ground. "Ann, stay with Fury. She's just unconscious. I'll get this guy."

"No!" Loor yelped, sobbing. "No! He'll kill you both! Take Fury an go, damn it!"

"Too late..." The man whispered, snickering. "Now listen as the rest of your family dies."

Loor shuddered as she felt something slimy and warm drag up her cheek; his tongue. He licked her, and then dropped her, letting her run for her brother. She was too slow though. Before she had even taken a step, she heard a sound she never wanted to hear again... a blade through living flesh. She gagged, but didn't let it stop her. "Ann! Run! He got Paul! Go, NOW!"

Loor heard the sound again, and the thud of a body falling down a set of stairs. "Too late."

Loor stopped in her tracks and then jumped to the side, sure that he had used that strange speed to get behind her again. Her ears detected his feet falling, and then a different direction to push off, and changed her own direction. Maybe she could dodge him... and then what? She needed a plan! She knew she couldn't get out alive now, but Fury was still out there! Her sister needed help!

In the wet grass, her feet slipped, and she fell down to the ground. On her back, she looked up as the moon broke through for a simple second, highlighting the man's outline, making the bloody sword shine in the dark.

"Your turn."

Loor stared down the pike of death, only seeing one thing... shining yellow eyes with slits for pupils. She stared for a moment, mouth slightly open, panting, crying...

A second later, she feinted, just in time for a second outline to suddenly appear in her vision.


	2. Troublesome

Da-da-da-da da doo!!! New chapter! Yay! Yeah, I'm having a lot of fun with this fic… heh…

**I don't own it, so (don't) sue me!**

OWTF!!!

**Markings- Chapter Two  
****Troublesome**

"You've really out done yourself this time, Orochimaru."

Orochimaru, for that was his name, snickered, standing several feet away from the girl he was about to kill, a smirk on his pale lips. A slight breeze batted at his black hair, past the face he wore that looked so young... even though he must have been coming up on fifty now. Facing him, standing over the unconscious pre teen, was a man with sliver hair tossed to the left side, wearing a cloth mask that covered him from the nose down, and a steel plated headband that covered one eye, his left eye. On the headband was a symbol that looked like a leaf with a swirl in the middle.

This man had come in at the last second to deflect Orochimaru's sword, to defend a little girl that he didn't even know. In one hand, the man held a short knife that he had used to deflect that katana in Orochimaru's hand, a weapon shaped like an elongated diamond with a straight handle and ending in a little ring of metal, just big enough to spin on one's finger.

"I could say the same for you, Kakashi." Orochimaru finally replied after sizing him up. "That eye of yours is getting to be very troublesome for me."

Kakashi snickered, taking the kunai knife in his hand and jamming it back into a weapon's pouch on his leg. "Troublesome? You haven't even seen the beginning of it." He closed the pouch, standing simply, waiting for an attack. "Where's your little hound?"

"He left already." Orochimaru replied lightly, slowly starting to walk in a circle around Kakashi. The silver haired man refused to move from protecting the body that was between his feet. He didn't even turn his head. "What about you, Kakashi? Came to take me all by yourself, or do you have backup?"

Suddenly, a female appeared behind Orochimaru, wearing a loose fitting dress that seemed to be made of several strips of white cloth criss-crossing over a red base. She had red eyes that shined brightly, and black hair that tumbled carelessly over her shoulders. Positioned on her forehead was a headband like Kakashi's with the same symbol on it. "Right here."

"Kurenai..." Orochimaru named her, and turned his head lightly, laughing at her. "Are you trying to scare me with smoke and mirrors, or are you and Asuma going to come out and fight?"

"Just go back, and we'll handle this back where we first saw you." Kakashi answered for her, now turning, glaring with his one visible eye.

"Now why would I do that?" Orochimaru gave a teasing laugh. "Going back to that boring place is such a low prospect when this one is so new and interesting."

"Why?" A gruff male voice asked in the darkness. Dropping in by Kurenai, the guy was shown to have short black hair and sideburns that went down into a short beard. He stood there for a moment, and pulled out a lighter, lighting a cigarette in his mouth. He also wore the headband with the symbol firmly on his forehead. His outfit just about matched Kakashi's; black pants, black shirt, and a green vest with a million pockets. "Because we said so."

"There you are, Asuma." Orochimaru smirked. "Well, it would seem that I'm outnumbered..."

Kakashi tensed slightly, as did Asuma and Kurenai.

"So let's shorten the population."

Before anyone could blink, Orochimaru had shoved his sword into Kurenai, but the body he had attacked quite literally puffed out of existence, changing to a little dash of white smoke. He already knew it was an image, a fake, and moved away from Asuma as the real Kurenai came down where Orochimaru had been standing, holding two kunai knives, much like the one Kakashi had used to beat away Orochimaru's sword. When Orochimaru moved, it would seem that he left something of an after image that Kurenai landed on, which also went in a puff of smoke. Still, landing on something solid, having that solid thing disappear, and then to land on the ground would throw someone off balance. She landed on her knees, grunting.

Asuma leapt over Kurenai, drawing two weapons that slipped over his knuckles that drew into curved blades, moving quickly at the snake of a man who just jumped away, dodging.

And that's all he did... Kurenai watched as Asuma stayed on the offense, moving just as fast as Orochimaru, and the pale black haired man just kept jumping away and laughing, egging him on. She felt as if they had missed something, and glanced at Kakashi to see what he was doing.

Kakashi was still standing over the girl, but he wasn't paying attention to the current situation. Currently, the man had pulled a book out of a pouch on his hip and was reading.

"What are you doing?!" She snapped at him, glancing as she saw that Orochimaru had gone to a slight offense, though it was obvious the man was still toying. "Aren't we going to go help?"

"No need." Kakashi gave back, sounding like he was perfectly oblivious. "I thought you'd be able to tell, knowing your skills."

"Tell what?!" Kurenai growled, wanting to clock him over the head.

"It's a shadow clone. The real one is already gone." He looked at her, a smirk evident through his mask. "We still need to get rid of it though. Shadow clones are solid, and are fully capable of doing damage."

"When did he do that??" Kurenai questioned, looking back at the thing that Asuma was fighting. That's why it was running away! One hit, and shadow clones would just puff out.

"When he jumped out from under you. You landed on one, but he made two. Asuma went for the second, and he hopped off and left." Kakashi went back to his book, turning the page.

"Well, would you stop reading that perverted book and give us some help then?!" Asuma growled, having heard the whole conversation. "I don't care if he's a clone, he's still fast!"

Kakashi gave a sigh, slowly closing his book and putting it away. "I thought two other Jonin would be able to handle one clone."

Kurenai rolled her eyes at him, quickly running up to help Asuma, and Kakashi took his time about pulling out a weapon and coming as well. In seconds, the three of them had cornered it and given one good hit. Like any other clone, it puffed and disappeared.

Slowly, the group broke, Asuma and Kakashi going to check on the blond girl who had nearly gotten herself killed, Kurenai looking into the other girl who had passed out on the stairs. "What are we going to do with these two?" Asuma finally asked.

"We can't leave them here... it would be rather unfair." Kakashi mused, slowly picking up the blond girl, lifting one of her eyelids to show a blazing blue eye that was mostly rolled back into the head. "We should take them with us. I wouldn't put it past Orochimaru to come back and finish the job the next chance he got."

"Why did he want to kill these guys in the first place?" Kurenai questioned, coming with the brown haired girl in arms.

"I'm guessing it was convenient." Kakashi answered. "He broke into the house, and the adults tried to start a fight over the death of a pet and uninvited guests, and then this little pit bull got involved after watching Orochimaru kill her parents." He let the blond's eyes close again, shrugging one of her arms over his shoulder and sighing. "Orochimaru never really needed a motive to kill someone."

"Good point. So, if we're taking the kids with us, what are we going to do?" Asuma asked.

"What do you mean?" Kakashi returned.

"We can't just take them without doing something to fill the people around her in on it. That's like stealing, or kidnapping."

Kakashi shrugged. "Kurenai, I think your skills can do something about that."

The only girl in the group nodded, turning towards the house. "Gotcha." She said, looking about. "Hopefully, the authorities will be here soon... and no one punches these things."

Asuma and Kakashi watched as Kurenai quickly preformed the process for shadow clones, coming up with exact replicas of the two girls that they were taking. "There." Kurenai stood straight. "We have no idea what they act like... so these things will just sit around comatose till we can safely bring these two back."

"Right." Kakashi agreed, nodding. "Now then, I think it's time to go... Besides, I have a mission to leave on tomorrow."

"You might want to hang around a little longer." Asuma suggested, taking up position as Kurenai walked over. "We don't know how much trouble these two are gonna be."

"I'm sure we can handle them," Kurenai smirked, hefting up the girl she was holding to free her hands. "I mean, they can't be much worse than our students, right?"

Kakashi snickered, thinking about his own team of students that he would be leaving with tomorrow. For a moment, he thought of Naruto, probably the most troublesome of his students. "...right."

By the next time the breeze blew, moving the clouds to cover the moon, the group had vanished.

* * *

Fury woke up slowly, and groaned about how much her head hurt. No, it was beyond hurt; this thing was almost a migraine. She lifted her hands to stretch, yawning, when she suddenly realized something.

She was on her back, on a real bed, with a pillow under her head.

It was shortly after her mind understood this that she remembered what happened the night before. Yelping, she sat up quickly. She quickly regretted it, the pain in her head increasing, and she fell back again, but she opened her eyes to at least get a look around.

A look around showed a simple room that was mainly white and cream colored, a single window to the right letting blinding light in. The bed she was on was also white, and the pillow was rather flat. Fury took all this in, and then looked to her left, seeing a second bed in the room. She didn't so much care about the second bed, but more about who was in that bed.

It was made obvious at this point that this room was somewhere in a hospital, and Loor looked like she belonged in the place. Fury had watched that guy throw her off the deck, though with what she could never guess, and it looked like the landing Loor had taken was not that kind to her. There were a few bandages on her arms, and she was set up on her belly, a doctor actually in the room, looking at a monster bruise on the blond haired girl's back.

Yowch, that must have been what she landed on at first.

The doctor, or nurse, seeing as she was dressed like one, glanced up when Fury yelped, and gave a slight smile. "Oh, you're awake. I'll see to you in a moment."

Fury nodded slightly, lying on her side. She didn't really care if she didn't recognize the hospital. "Is Loor alright...?"

The nurse smiled sweetly. "It would seem her back has taken a beating before, but she'll be alright. Just a little shaken."

Fury giggled. "A beating would be an understatement... she has a few muscles back there that don't like her that much."

The nurse nodded. "Yes... a spasming muscle, it would seem, in the right flank." She shrugged, pulling the blanket back up for Loor and leaving her to sleep. "She'll just be sore for a few days, but it won't make her condition any worse." She came over to Fury, pulling, doing a quick once-over with various medical tools. Fury was used to stuff like this. She was a two-month pre-mature child, born with weak immunities and a bunch of other crap, so she was used to doctors and all their little doodads. Finally, she started asking questions about how Fury felt, and Fury informed the nurse about her head killing her.

"Water." The nurse informed. "It seems both you and your friend don't drink as much as you should."

Fury had a fleeting thought about how both girls diets' also contained a lot more pop than your average dentist would like. At least Fury brushed every night. Loor's habits in the area were... lacking, at best.

"How long have we been here?" Fury asked as the nurse left and returned from a conjoint bathroom, having filled a paper cup with cool water for her.

"Two days." The nurse answered, sitting down. "Three of our best Jonin dropped you two here and made sure you guys got the best care, though neither of you were hurt very badly... you just both looked to be in a state of shock."

Fury snorted slightly, downing her water quickly. "Shock? Try terror." She then paused. "Wait a second... Jonin? What are you taking about?"

The nurse cocked her head to the side, confused that Fury didn't know what the term meant. "Aren't you two from here?"

"Uh... I have no idea where we are, so probably not." Fury put her paper cup down on the end table by the wall.

The nurse put a finger to her chin. "Maybe that's why Kakashi wouldn't say anything about what happened. You guys must be from a non-ninja village then..."

"Ninja?" Fury questioned. She was getting really confused, _really_ fast.

The nurse got up quickly, gigging at herself. "Come here, I'll show you." She gave, slowly helping Fury up, whose body was against moving at the moment. Still, she did, and allowed herself to be led to the window.

Her jaw dropped at what she saw outside.

This hospital was in the middle of a bustling city-like place, and they had to be at least four floors up. Below, Fury saw tons of buildings below, shops, and people in every street. There were wide avenues and little lanes, buildings ranging from towers and huts alike, areas of the place looking tightly packed as New York, and yet other areas that had the green squares that showed farmland. Half of it was surrounded by mountain face, where something like mount Rushmore was carved, only the faces were different. Beyond the farm-like area was pretty much a forest that was thick enough and tall enough to rival anything they had at home.

"Holy..." Fury muttered.

"You can't see it from here," The nurse said. "But out in the forest a fair way, there's a huge wall that surrounds the village."

"V-v-village?" Fury squeaked out. She was pretty sure this counted as a city, but wasn't going to say anything.

"Yep. Welcome to Konohagure, Konoha for short." The nurse giggled. "The village hidden in the leaves!"

Fury took a few steps back and sat back down on her bed. Strangely, through this whole situation, she was yet to notice that she was not wearing one of those funky hospital dress things that she would get at home. Instead, she was wearing a pale blue robe, her stuff stashed in the end table, neatly folded.

"Impossible..." Was all Fury could say.

"Nope." The nurse chirped. "Far from it. If you're from a non-ninja village, it's no big surprise that you don't know much about Konoha, or ninjas at all for that matter. They call it a hidden village for a reason."

"But... I..." Fury finally hung her head, sighing. She stopped trying to make sense of it.

The nurse shrugged it off. "I'm sure Kurenai will explain it better than me. I'd better go get her too. That's what I was supposed to do the second one of you woke up, so I'll just be--"

"No need."

Both Fury and the nurse looked back to see a woman walking into the room, wearing a loose dress of what looked to be white strips of cloth crossing over a red base. She had black hair, and wore a headband on her forehead with a symbol of a leave with a swirly on it. She walked up, shooing off the nurse after a quick report of how both girls were doing, and sitting by Fury, looking relaxed.

"I have to say... you must be pretty scared, huh?"

"Horrified." Fury gave quietly.

"I would be too, after seeing what you two saw. That guy is a nasty character..."

Silence. Fury was still too out of it to ask who did what, or how Kurenai even knew.

"So what are we going to do now?" Fury finally asked. She had no idea who this person was, but they seemed to have answers.

"Kakashi, one of the two Jonin other than myself that helped save you and your friend, recently left with the suggestion that myself and the other Jonin, Asuma, evaluate the skills that you and your friend have... and train you to be capable of defending yourselves."

"Huh?"

"That guy isn't one to leave a job undone." Kurenai answered. "He'll be back, sooner or later, and I guess it takes a load off of Kakashi's mind if you guys are able of getting away with your lives when that time comes... Still, you two are as old as your average Genin, so it's going to be hard bringing up skills that you don't even know about, seeing as I doubt we have five years to put you through the academy."

"Five years?!" Fury squealed. "Hehe... no."

"Well, I thought most of that time was useless, so as soon as your friend is up and walking, we'll be figuring out where to put you guys."

"Where to put us?" Fury had to question. It sounded like they were talking about school placement or something.

"If you guys are even going to have a chance, it has to be training your gifts, not trying to get your faults off the ground."

"You sound like Loor." Fury mumbled.

"Loor?"

"My big sister, over there." She pointed at the blond, who was still sleeping on her belly. "She's a fighter type... and she's been training me up for a while. She always tells me that I'll never win the way she does because I'm not built to be strong, but I'm built to be fast, so I have to use that to my advantage and fight with my head, not my gut."

Kurenai looked back at Loor with a slightly surprised look. "Your sister?"

"We just say that... because we're such good friends, even though we only got to be friends during school last year."

"I see." Kurenai nodded slightly, and then got up. "You two will be staying here for a while, just till Loor wakes up..."

"Hey! Kurenai sensai!"

The woman turned to see a boy almost busting down the door on his way in. "What's taking you so long!?" He growled at her, glaring with slitted pupils that looked like they came off of a wild animal. He wore a coat, despite it was summer, with fur trimming. His hood was down, showing that he had short brown hair that looked like it had never seen a hairbrush, and he had pants that matched his coat in the gray-blue color. In his hood was a small puppy with a milky white coat, brown splotches, and floppy ears, who barked along with the boy, punctuating the question.

The main thing Fury noticed were the red triangles tattooed on his face. This kid couldn't have been older than her and he had tattoos!

"Kiba," Kurenai returned. "I told you and the others that I would be late."

"Yeah, but you happen to tell Hinata and Shino that you're going to the hospital, and don't tell me squat!" The boy name Kiba batted back. "What's up with that? Are these personal friends or something?"

"That's because I knew you'd come and bust in at the least opportune time, Kiba. Now go back and wait for me!"

Kiba glanced at Fury. "What, is this some kind of secret meeting, or somethin'?"

"Kiba, go!" Kurenai snapped. With a slight growl, the boy turned and scampered out, and Kurenai sighed, shutting the door behind him, looking back at Fury. "It's best that your home stays a secret..." She sighed. "Orochimaru wouldn't be the only one who would try to take advantage of it, and you never know when the wrong ear is listening. If anyone asks, you two come from a non-ninja village from somewhere else in the Fire country. Refuse to give any information beyond that."

Fury just nodded. "Fire county... sure..." She just kept nodding till the woman left, and then got up off of her bed, pacing. "Dear god, I'm going crazy!" She muttered. "Ninjas... villages the size of New York... weird people who wear parkas in the summer that look kinda cute... What the hell??"

Behind her, Loor groaned lightly. "Oh, ow..."

"Loor!" Fury dive-bombed her sister. "You're up! You're awake!"

"My back!" Loor crowed, getting hit hard. "Oh shit..." She growled, pushing her sister off and rolling over, wincing as she slowly sat up, looking Fury up and down. Loor was wearing a pale blue robe like she was, but it was half off because the nurse had done so to take a look at her. "Where the hell are we?"

"In all honesty..." Fury sighed. "I'm not sure. Some place called 'Ko-no-ha-ja-gear' or something like that... nurse says it was Konoha for short..." She shrugged, and then hugged Loor again. "But you're up!"

"Take it easy!" Loor snapped, wincing. "Sorry, sorry, it's just..." She rubbed her back, and then her mind suddenly snapped into focus. "Oh god..."

Fury watched as the color drained out of Loor's face. "My family... " She muttered. The pain of her back was forgotten as she leapt up, fists clenched. "Where is that bastard?!" She snarled, shrugging the robe on and then noticing her normal clothes were folded up in a compartment of the end table. Before Fury could stop her, she took the robe off and pulled the pants she had been wearing the night before on, along with the set of socks she had and a set of heavy boots.

"Loor, we're supposed to wait here." Fury urged, grabbing her friend and trying to hold her still.

"Screw that!" Loor gave, pushing her aside, heading for the door clad in her sports bra, pants, and boots. "I'm gonna find that jerk-off!"

"Loor, he nearly killed you! He nearly killed both of us!"

Loor glanced back. "I'm not dead yet." She shot back.

With that, she was out the door, leaving Fury feeling helpless.


	3. Petty Emotions

Yeah, chapter three is already done… oh well. Who cares if I have no public? I'm happy to be writing!

So here we go!

**No ownage!**

OWTF!!!

**Markings- Chapter Three  
****Petty Emotions**

Loor had all but lost it.

Her mind couldn't accept what she had seen the night before, and she was even further from accepting what she was seeing now. It was beyond jarring her mind. It was shattering it. She ran through this strange hospital, past so many people, down stairs, looking for a way out, the walls seeming to suffocate her. She couldn't stand it. She had to get out!

She found the front door, but didn't stop there, seeing as the person at the front desk started yelling at her. She didn't listen, hardly looking at what was outside, only seeing slight blurred shapes enough to dodge them, going to the left, sprinting away. She must have plowed through a few people too, but her mind would omit such memories as useless information.

She could almost hear that man's voice in her head, driving her insane. She didn't even have a name to put on him, a name to put her hatred, her rage, this adrenaline that let her shoot down the thin streets in such a frenzy, not really noticing that the buildings were thinning, that the areas around were getting greener. All she seemed to know was this insanity in her mind, and her need to lay her fists into _something!_

Finally, something pushed her brain a little closer to sanity when she found herself going hell-bent for what looked like deep woods. She may have been following a path, but it confused her. How did she get here? So quickly? Wasn't she just among people and buildings and city smells? She skidded to a stop, her boots kicking of the dirt of the path, panting light a wild beast, glancing about, brushing a deft hand through her blond hair.

Where the hell was she? Konohagure? That meant nothing to her. Absascrewdily nothing.

In her mind, she promised death to the strange snake man, if it was the last thing she did. She didn't care if he was more powerful than her now. She would just have to get more powerful, and kill him. That was all there was to it...

Her mind flashed on how quickly he moved. How was she to compete with that?

She snorted at her mind. _Shut the hell up._

Her mind didn't. If such a thing was needed, more images flashed through her mind, of the last seconds of her parents' lives, screaming for her brother and sister to run. How helpless she had been... How weak...

She screamed, throwing her head back, digging her hands into her scalp, taking handfuls of her own hair. She could feel the icy fear that had frozen her still, crawling up her back, dripping over her senses.

That feeling if his tongue going up her cheek.

She shivered as her breath was exhausted, panting, taking a knee. What was she thinking? She couldn't take that guy and she knew it... but still, she wanted to fight back. She couldn't just roll over after her family had been taken from her! All her best memories, ripped away...

_Petty emotions._ She threw at herself, trying to calm down. _You can't help anyone like this. Stand up and take it like you take everything else; like a man. You're no weakling unless you start acting like that stereotyped girl that you hate so much. _

She nodded to agree with herself, moving to get up, shaking her head and pushing her hair out of her face. She hated it when it did that, blocking her eyes. She worked on moving it out of the way, snorting at its length. She had been meaning to crop it short like...her mother...

She growled at herself. She would get nowhere crying.

Shaking out the blond cascade, feeling it touch between her shoulder blades, she turned to start walking back only to realize she didn't know which way 'back' was. She had run in here without looking, and now she had no idea of even which way to go on the path.

She was about to lose it again, but something else happened.

"Sneak attack, boss!"

Loor didn't take time to think about what had been said, just that someone had just screamed those words, and that person was behind her. Without thinking, she turned and lifted one knee in a block. Seeing a small shape jumping toward her from the tree tops, she straightened it out to a kick, catching what she thought was this thing's chest and arcing around, throwing the little thing into a tree trunk.

She stood there with her leg still out for a couple of seconds, and then relaxed, taking a look at the little gremlin that had attacked her.

It was a little kid, nine or ten at most, missing one of his front teeth, wearing an off yellow T with the symbol of a leaf with a swirly in the middle in orange, and a simple set of kid boy shorts and a set of open toe shoes. To finish off the get up, he wore a long blue scarf that probably got in the way when he was walking, and a set of green goggles to push up his short brown hair.

"Who the hell are you, and why are you attacking me?" Loor finally asked, raising an eyebrow at the kid's get up. Scarf and goggles made her go to her game obsessions and think Jak and Daxter.

The kid was coughing as he came away from the tree. She didn't even think that she might have knocked the wind out of him; she was just defending herself. "My... name is... Konohamaru!" He panted, getting to stand straight, trying for a tough pose that just looked goofy with his little body. "And I attacked you because I thought you were the boss in Sexy Jutsu!"

The other one followed the already raised eyebrow. "Ko...no... ham..." She shook her head. "Listen kid, that's a bit of a mouthful for me, so how about Kony? And who the hell is your boss?"

Kony instantly burst out into a big smile. "His name is Naruto and he's gonna be the next Hokage! After me, that is."

"And what the hell is a Hokage?" Was her next question. This kid seemed to know things.

Though the second that sentence left her mouth, his jaw dropped. "What are you talking about, 'What is a Hokage???' You have to know who he is! He's my grandpa!"

"Well that's nice, but is he the president at the same time, or something?"

"President...?" Konohamaru shrugged the term off. "The Hokage is ruler of this village, and you can only become Hokage by becoming the best ninja in the village! Being the Hokage is like walking around with a sign on your back that says 'I'm the strongest!'"

"That's a nice way to get killed..." Loor muttered, though the conditions for such a title sounded right up her alley. Goodness knows she loved being top dog.

"Hey!! Don't go disprespectin' the old man!!" Kony crowed. "Only I'm allowed to do that!"

"Cause he's your grandpa? That's loverly... Listen kid, I don't have time for this. Can you tell me which way town is? I kinda got lost."

Kony glanced around, and nodded. "Be right back!"

Loor stared as the kid, this nine-year-old kid, suddenly leaped about seven feet into the air to the first branch on the tree she had kicked him into. He climbed right out of her sight in that fashion, and she sat down in a slight shock.

"I've been out classed by a little snot nosed kid..." She muttered, sighing. That was really great for someone's ego, really.

Suddenly, Konohamaru dropped back down, looking frantic.

"What's up?" She questioned.

"Ebisu!" He answered, turning down the path. "Run!!"

* * *

Fury was pacing up and down the small hospital room, wringing her hands, her mind arguing the two choices she had on her plate. She could have gone after Loor, but Kurenai was expecting them to stay in the room, but Loor didn't stay in the room, and Fury would probably know which way she went, so she should track her down, but she wasn't supposed to leave the room!

Yeah, that's about what her mind sounded like; one big run on sentence without any spaces to actually think.

She started huffing, scared. What if Loor ran into that guy out there...? What if he killed her!? Panic shot through her. She had to do something!!

Just then, the door opened, making Fury jump and scream, turning a full 180 in the air.

Seeing Kurenai, she lightened up a little. Very little.

"Loor ran off!" Fury squealed, eyes wide.

The woman who just entered glanced at Loor's empty bed, and then laughed lightly. "She seemed the type..." Kurenai muttered, and then offered a hand to Fury. "I'll send someone after her, and you can head down to the training grounds with my team."

Fury nodded slowly. "Just let me get dressed..." She muttered, grabbing her clothes from the end table, taking off the robe and yanking her shirt over her flat chest and trainer bra, and pulling on her jeans, slipping on her socks and shoes, and then coming after Kurenai, feeling like a little kid when she took her hand. Oh well, it was better to feel small and safe than try to be some sort of big girl and stick her neck out for cutting.

Walking the halls, Kurenai stopped a man wearing long black pants and a black turtle neck with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows and another one of those steel plated head-band things with the leaf symbol on it, only the thing it was one was like a cap crossed with a bandanna, tied in the back. To finish the outfit, he wore black glasses.

"Ebisu," Kurenai greeted. "We have an escapee."

"We have two." The man, Ebisu, grumbled. "The Honorable Grandson has managed to loose me again..."

"Yeah, well the girl I'm looking for is a loose cannon. Best we find her before she does something stupid. She's one of the..." Kurenai cleared her throat. "_New arrivals." _

He nodded, glancing at Fury, probably filing away who she was. "Right. Do you know where she went?"

"I do." Fury said quickly. "Loor's mind was on overload... she'd go for the nearest slice of wildlife you guys have. It calms her down."

"Where should I bring her once I have her?" Ebisu questioned, turning his eyes to Kurenai, seeming to shrug off Fury's words as if she had said nothing.

"The training areas are fine. I'll be working with Fury here."

Ebisu nodded, and Fury watched as he seemed to vanish, the area where he had been loosing a bit of wind. It made her jump. "God, is it frickin' Hogwarts here or something???"

Kurenai snickered, continuing to walk down the hall. "With some luck, you and your friend might be able to move that fast in a month or so."

"A month..." Fury muttered, slightly wondering. So he hadn't vanished, he had just moved faster than human eyes could track.

"It's a simple matter of using a slight focus on a particular part of your body. It might take a while to master the skill, but it's very useful once you have it, you'll be glad you do." Kurenai snickered. "Though, I'm guessing that training will be taken from me."

"Huh?"

"The reason we want to evaluate you two is--"

"To figure out what skills we already have and sharpen them, right?" Fury asked, looking up.

"Yes." Kurenai nodded, turning onto a stair well down. "The best way to sharpen them is to put you with a team and sensai that can focus on that one ability or talent."

"Oh..." Fury nodded, sighing. She was still worried about Loor, and it probably showed on her face, because Kurenai gave her a little squeeze.

"Don't worry. Ebisu won't hurt her when he find her."

Fury snickered. "I'm not worried about that. There's a bigger chance of _her_ hurting _him._ There's a reason people at home are afraid of her."

Kurenai nodded slightly. "So, what's the story with you? Loor's like a raging bull..."

"Yeah..." Fury shrugged. "I donno. I'm good at being invisible... at home, whenever I tried to tell someone something important, I'd be ignored, and then they yell at me for not telling them anything. Even Loor does that sometimes... I know she tires really hard though, so it's okay."

Kurenai nodded knowingly. "Ah, so you balance each other."

"Huh?"

"Loor seems like a real live wire, and you're like a wet blanket for her so she doesn't go doing anything stupid." She smiled at Fury. "In return, she helps you to live life on the wild side, right?"

"She tries..." Fury lifted her free hand to rub her own shoulder. "But I tend to chicken out of stuff."

"You two have to make a pretty good team, though."

"We've gotten through a lot together..." Fury agreed, the two of them hitting the bottom landing and heading for the door.

"I'm guessing this is slightly bigger than any of the other stuff you two have ever done, huh?"

Fury glanced up, seeing the village again from ground level, and giving a nervous giggle. "A lot bigger..."

* * *

"Who the hell is Ebisu?" Loor questioned, already on her feet and on the run with Kony.

"He's my snooty personal trainer!" The kid squealed back, glancing behind himself. Loor didn't dare look back, she knew she'd fall down. She had to keep her nose pointed forward and her head down.

"What's he want with us??" She finally gave back after a while, dodging through the trees as they left the path.

"He probably doesn't want anything with you! He's just after me because I left during a training session!"

Loor nodded slightly, moving around another tree, and then noticing something. She was going full throttle, and this kid wasn't just keeping up with her, he was actually beating her by a few inches. She growled, pushing a little harder to get even with him, feeling the pain in her legs. "How the hell... do you go... so fast??"

"Chakra focus!" Kony returned. "Every ninja knows how to do it!"

"I'm not a ninja!" She snapped, jumping over a fallen tree. "What the hell is chakra?"

"Tell ya later!" Kony turned off from where they were running, jumping up into a tree, leaving Loor alone. Loor assumed he was doing a favor, realizing she wasn't a ninja and knowing she wouldn't be able to keep that speed up for long, and led Ebisu away. With that in mind, she didn't bother looking back, slowing to a jog and then to a walk before stopping, panting, and falling to her knees.

"I don't... get paid enough... for this shit..." She muttered, catching her breath. "Actually, I don't get... paid at all... which sucks."

"Are you done running now?"

Loor slowly turned to see a man wearing all black behind her, including black specs and some funky bandanna-cap thing on his head with a plate of metal on it with the same symbol as Konohamaru's T shirt. She looked at him for a few seconds, and slowly pushed herself to her feet. "You Ebisu?" She finally asked.

"Yes." He nodded. "And I'm supposed to take you back to the main of the village."

"Screw that." Loor snorted. "I'll get there on my own."

"Your agreement is optional, I can carry you back."

She glared at him for a few seconds, and then smirked. "Dude, I have half a mind to knock that smirk right off that thing you call a face."

"Save the cheep insults." Ebisu started walking toward her, and she started to back up, apprehensive.

A second later, Kony dropped down between them.

"Honorable Grandson, my luck that you two are together." Ebisu smiled. "It makes things easier."

"Yeah right!" Konohamaru snapped back, planting his feet. "I'll defeat you this time!"

"Not that vulgar jutsu again?" Ebisu questioned. "I've already proved it has no effect on me."

Konohamaru wasn't listening, and Loor watched with curiosity as the kid raised his shoulders slightly, looking to be concentrating, lifting his hands, holding his left hand with two fingers straight up, the middle and pointer, and the ring finger and pinky finger held down by the thumb. His right hand had made the same symbol, but the middle and pointer crossed his other middle and pointer at a right angle, forming a hand sign that looked like a cross.

Loor watched the kid light up blue like an offbeat version of DBZ.

"What the shit...?" She asked quietly, backing up a step.

_"Sexy jutsu!" _

Loor watched as a puff of smoke rose up from the kid, and when it left, a nude and thoroughly curvy girl was left in his stead. Yes, a teenage girl with a thick mane of chocolate brown hair and every curve that a female porn star would need. She stood in the rising smoke, one arm up in the air, leaned back, legs crossed, standing, the other bent behind her head.

"Like my jutsu, sensai?" It asked in a female voice, giggling, leaning over slightly. Even behind it, (because she wasn't sure what gender to put on this thing now) she knew that it was squishing it's own breasts together.

Ebisu was slightly fazed, and Loor saw it. Without thinking, she snapped into action, running an vaulting over this slightly bent over... thing, and landing on one foot, the other one moving toward the ground as she reared back and gave him one good hit across the face, breaking the glasses and knocking him back.

She then turned around to see another puff of smoke coming up as the girl turned back into Konohamaru. At once, the kid held out his hand for a high-five, which she quickly gave, laughing. "Dude, what the hell was that??"

"That was the sexy jutsu! Naruto taught it to me."

"Yeah, but... I still don't know what jutsu is..."

"They're ninja abilities." Kony said simply, shrugging like it was no big deal. He then looked behind Loor. "Aw man, he isn't defeated!"

Loor glanced back to see Ebisu looking angry and bleeding from the nose, though that wasn't her fault. Some people have nosebleeds when they have perverted thoughts; Ebisu was one of them. Apparently the boob squeeze was one too much for him. All she had done was knock his glasses off, showing his brown eyes.

After a few seconds of looking angry, he took a big breath and let it out. "Not bad, but I'm not here for a fight."

"Damn, Kony, this jerk _is_ snooty." Loor squared off, facing him. "Too bad buddy, because I _want_ a fight."

Ebisu smirked, and suddenly disappeared. Loor gasped slightly, freezing like a deer in the headlights.

"How badly?" He questioned, suddenly behind her.

Loor stood frozen, and fell to her knees, silent, her eyes looking dead.

"Whoa, Ebisu, what did you do to her??" Konohamaru ran up, waving a hand in front of Loor's face, which was utterly blank.

"I didn't do anything..." Ebisu seemed puzzled as well. "Unless moving quickly frightened her somehow."

Loor suddenly came back to earth, gasping, pulling away from both boys, and looking about, frantic again. Still, she took a few breaths and calmed down, focusing on the greenery around her. "S-s-sorry.. that really isn't like me... it isn't..." She pushed herself to get up. "Just a bad memory.. silly..."

That snake-man had moved just as fast, managed to appear behind her every time...

She shook it off. "Anyway... back to the village, right? Right! Let's go!" She wanted to move quickly, pushing Ebisu to lead the way, embarrassed at the funny looks both Konohamaru and his master were giving her.

"Hey, girl, what's your name?" Kony asked as they were nearing the village.

She glanced down at him. "Friends call me Loor."

"Loor, you've beaten me once, but don't expect it to happen again! I'm gonna be Hokage, which means I have to take out everyone who's beaten me before! That means you too, Ebisu!"

Ebisu smirked, trying to get his broken glasses to lie across his nose anyway, having found them in the grass. "All in due time, Honorable Grandson. I'd say you'd work on beating the girl you're walking next to first."

Loor laughed lightly. "Yeah, but you'd better work fast, or I'll be outta here before you know it. I'm not from around here, and I plan on going home soon."

_At least... I hope it's soon..._


	4. Evaluate The Situation

-dances- I've been writing my ass off!! My left hand is numb!! YAY!!!

**No ownage.**

OWTF!!!

**Markings- Chapter Four  
****Evaluate the Situation**

"Loor!"

Fury broke out into a huge smile when she saw Loor walking up with that Ebisu guy and some little kid. She had been hanging out with Kurenai and her three students for a while now, and had been a bit beyond worrying for a while now.

Loor waved at her friend, giving a smile and leaving Ebisu behind, slowing to a walk and taking a look around. "Nice set up..." She commented, raising an eyebrow. It was, actually. Fury, with some woman with black hair, some guy with a dog, and two other people, had been hanging in this area of the thinner woods. It was a big clearing with three logs set into the ground vertically, probably for target practice, because they were full of holes that looked like they came from hand held blades. The grass was thick, soft like a practice mat, and the whole place smelt of the summer greens.

Fury nodded, giving her big sister a quick hug. "Yeah, its just training grounds though..." She smiled, pointing at the woman of the group, who was leaning on one of the logs that was set into the ground. "That's Kurenai, and these are her three students Kiba, Hinata, and Shino."

Loor nodded at each person, Kiba being the person with the dog. Hinata was a girl who was also wearing a coat like Kiba's, only lighter in color. Was it common fashion or something? She wore matching pants with that, and looked to be rather shy, practically hiding behind her headband, which was tied around her neck and tucked slightly into her coat, only the leaf symbol showing. Strangely enough, her eyes were snowy white, and her hair was black with long bangs and cropped short in the back. Shino wore a long and baggy light blue coat that wasn't as heavy as the ones his comrades wore, but it had a huge collar that hid the lower half of his face. Added in, he wore black specs like Ebisu, and his headband was on his forehead, pushing up short-cropped black hair, and had black pants.

Kurenai was the only one to actually return the nod. Kiba gave a fake salute, and Hinata gave a tiny wave, where Shino seemed to ignore her. "Thanks for bringing her Ebisu." Kurenai said, turning to the approaching man and his reluctant student. "Next time we can do something for you, be sure to tell us."

Ebisu gave a slight smile. "I'll just have you track down the Honorable Grandson the next time he runs off."

Konohamaru gave a huffy face, growling, his arms crossed, muttering something about snooty closet-pervert trainers.

"Goodbye Kurenai." Ebisu bade, giving a slight wave and turning on his heel. Konohamaru, still pouting, followed.

"Alright." Kurenai said, turning to the five pre teens that she had on her plate. Or four pre teens and one recent teen, since Loor is yet to realize that it _is_ her birthday, no matter how weird it turned out to be. "Loor, Fury, we have until Kakashi and his team get back from their current mission in the Land of Waves to sharpen what skills you have so that when they get back, you are ready for some real training. Of course, the first step is figuring out _what_ these skills are, so I'm going to put you both through a practice spar with one of my students." She gave a slight smile. "Fury, you want to go first?"

Fury flushed up. "Well...ah... can't we just tell you?"

Kurenai smirked. "Sometimes, we're not as good as we think we are at one thing, and better than we think at others. It's better that I watch. Don't worry, Kiba'll take it easy on you." She looked up at Kiba, who was suddenly grinned. "Right?"

"Right." The boy grinned, showing off an actual fang in his smile. Was he part dog or something???? As he came into the center of the clearing, his puppy jumped out of his hood and hopped into Hinata's arms as she and Shino cleared off. Shakily, Fury went into the center, backing off so there was a fair amount of space between them. Loor and Kurenai had also backed off a little bit.

Loor grinned. "C'mon Fury, you can take this punk."

"Easy for you to say..." Fury muttered to herself, looking with a slight fear at Kiba. It was obvious that he was capable of putting some serious hurt on someone with his bare hands, perhaps even kill someone. She felt like a moth going up against a bonfire.

Scary.

"Ready..." Kurenai had taken the job of announcer. Loor half expected her to yell 'Leeeeeeeet's get ready to rummmmmble!!" But that wasn't likely. Kiba tensed, and Fury turned sideways to make herself a smaller target. Kurenai's red eyes dashed between them, and then took a small smile to her face. "Go!"

Kiba leapt forward quickly, and Fury jumped aside without thinking. It was a reflex of hers to dodge, and she was really good at it. As Kiba passed, she attempted a kick at him, but wasn't quick enough, just throwing herself a bit off balance. He skidded to a stop a few feet past her, and turned to charge again. It took on a rhythm almost, of this exchange of offense, defense, and counter. Loor smiled with slight pride. Fury was buying herself time to come up with a plan, and Loor knew it. The way she was dodging was something Loor had taught her; to wait for the last second, listen to the footfalls, and then jump. The problem with it was...

"He's exhausting her." Shino observed with a monotone voice that creeped Loor out. "She needs to fight back."

"Are you insulting the way she buys herself time?" Loor gave, glaring at him.

"Whoever trained her taught her how to dance, not to fight."

"You'd be talking to the person who trained her to use her speed to her advantage." Loor growled, looking back up as she heard the rhythm change.

Kiba had charged, and Fury had jumped forward with her head down, nailing him in the chest.

Well, that's one way to use your head. The problem was that the hit didn't do much. Kiba just stopped and moved back a few feet, and then grabbed her shoulders, throwing her aside while twisting her body. Fury landed painfully on her side.

"Enough!" Kurenai barked. "Good job Kiba." She gave, watching the dog boy go back to grab his puppy from Hinata and going up to Fury, who was still pushing herself off of the ground.

"Ouch..." She muttered.

"Take it easy." Kurenai snickered. "For a non-ninja, you didn't do half bad. Obviously, your strength is in your speed, though we'll be working on your physical strength too, so when you land a blow, it actually does something."

Fury gave a halfhearted giggle. "Thanks..." She muttered, pushing herself off the ground. Kiba had put quite a twist on her, with so little effort. She'd be dizzy for hours, or at least it felt that way. "Go for it Loor."

Loor grinned. "I'm gonna have some fun with this." She gave, walking up to the center. "So who's the sucker up against me?"

Kurenai glanced to those on her team. "Hinata, how about you go for it?"

If possible, more of Hinata's face disappeared behind her headband. "Uh... ah... sure..." She gave, her voice tiny and shy.

Loor smiled, watching as the nervous girl shuffled away from her team, but then suddenly seemed to buck up a little bit. She picked up her head, planted her feat, and took a stance.

That's what Loor wanted to hear. Still, she was a little off balance by Hinata's eyes. They were pure white, but it seemed obvious that the girl was not blind. Were they contacts? No, she doubted it. White was a hard color to find.

Kurenai seemed to read Loor's mind. "Don't mind her eyes. She's not blind. It's just a gift of her family, called the Bykugan."

"What's it do...?" Loor became apprehensive. This ninja thing kept getting more and more weird, and it was already strange enough.

"It..." Loor looked over as Hinata found her little voice. "It let's me see your inner energy... and everything around me, without looking, without a single blind spot... three hundred and sixty degrees, all the way around..."

"Whoa..." Loor gave, giving what was becoming a trademark raised eyebrow. "So, it's the opposite of being blind. Got ya."

"I won't use it on you... because you're new..."

Loor gave a smirk. "Honey, use it if you want." She took her own stance, head on, shoulders slouched, arms hanging down. "I'm gonna beat your ass all the same! Just because you can see... that doesn't mean anything unless you act!"

Kurenai sighed slightly, coming forward again. "Ready..." She gave, glancing as Hinata tensed and Loor stayed lax. She seemed ready to move, but slightly uncomfortable in the stance. Was it a new thing she was trying out? In a serious match? Strange. "Go!"

Hinata was the first to move, coming forward as Loor held perfectly still. It was strange, like watching a person run to a dummy.

But Loor was waiting for the opportune moment.

Hinata slowed as she got close, prepping her attack, and Loor hopped back, switching gears when her feet landed, turning quickly and sea-sawing her body. Her upper body dropped, her hands on the ground, while one leg rose, a kick aimed at Hinata's face. Looking upside down, under herself, Loor watched as Hinata's white eyes widened, shocked at the sudden movement.

She also watched as Hinata vanished in a puff of smoke, but her foot contacted with something else that happened to split in half. Loor forgot what would have been the next two moves of her three hit set, standing straight and looking down at something that looked like a random log that had taken Hinata's place. Said log had split in half when she kicked it, but where did the girl go?

Loor yelped as she felt someone's palms contact with her back. The hit itself wasn't that forceful, but there was something else to it. That one smack on her back stung from back to front, like a whole line of muscles had shifted in the wrong direction. Without thinking, Loor turned to plant her fist in Hinata's face, but she moved again. God that little girl was quick! Still, this time, Loor didn't let her guard down. She waited again, spreading her legs like her original stance, glancing about, even looking up for good measure, waiting for that pale, shy girl to appear again.

To her left, Loor heard the foot fall, and moved away from it, launching with both feet back at her enemy with a fist drawn back, but her other hand got there first to hold her still.

"It's called trial and error!" She yelled, to punctuate the hard one hit, letting go when her fist contacted. She panted slightly, and backed off again, seeing as Hinata didn't even hit the ground before she dashed again, making Loor lose her for about a second before figuring out that Hinata had just gone back to where she started.

"C'mon Loor, get her!" Fury yelled, almost jumping up and down.

Loor grinned. Screw the waiting game. She charged, keeping her eyes on Hinata to make sure she wouldn't pull anything fancy.

That's when Hinata's hands came together in a hand sign. It wasn't anything like the one Kony made, and she didn't think about it. That jutsu stuff didn't seem to be the most effective thing in the world anyway.

_"Bykugan!"_

Loor thought a little on it when all the veins leading to Hinata's eyes suddenly bulged out, her eyes becoming icy rather than snowy. Loor aborted her direct charge because of it, changing direction to the side, and then turning to get behind her.

Hinata didn't even move, and Loor came at her. It wasn't her usual style to 'stab' someone in the back, but... this was different.

The fist Loor was about to plow into the girl's lower spine was blocked, Hinata grabbing it with her own hand, and then taking a hold of Loor's fist, the other hand coming to grab her just above the elbow. Loor felt it as her feet left the ground, but she didn't really get it till she was over Hinata's head, and then landed on her back on the ground.

Thrown like a rag doll... blocking without looking... what kind of backwards world was this??? She didn't even move from the ground, didn't notice as Hinata went and celebrated her victory with her teammates, even though Kiba and his dog were the only ones that had any enthusiasm. She didn't really come back from her own defeat till Fury ran up and started shaking her to make sure Hinata hadn't killed her or broken her neck.

"I'm fine." Loor grunted, pushing herself to sit up, though her back was screaming again. Kurenai was coming over too, looking pleased.

"Not bad at all." Kurenai commented. "Fury, you weren't kidding when you said Loor was a fighter." She turned her attention directly to Loor. "How long have you been training on your own?"

"About two years..." Loor smiled. "Though it was only last year that it really stepped up... I like being strong... I hate being bested."

Kurenai nodded. "You're pretty quick on your feet, but your major gift is hand to hand combat, no doubt. You'd be better off with Gai and his team than you'd be with me."

"Gai?" Loor asked. "You mean you'd be separating me and Fury?"

Kurenai offered Loor a smile and a hand to help her up. "Just for training. Try not to worry about it. Maybe, when Kakashi comes back, you two can spar against each other to show off the skills you've gained."

"Who is this Kakashi guy?" Loor asked, rubbing her lower back on the right side, wincing. "He seems awful important, whoever he is..."

"He's a great ninja, and teacher..." She paused, and then looked at Loor. "He saved you, by the way."

There was a slight silence, and Loor nodded. "I'll have to return the favor someday, then."

Fury put a hand on Loor's back, a sign that she understood that her friend was hurting. Loor nodded lightly, and shrugged. "Oh well, water under the bridge. The best we can do is... look ahead." She then gave a very serious look to Kurenai. "But you're going to talk to this Gai person tonight, right? About my training with him?"

"Of course. I wouldn't just drop a new student in his lap without talking to him."

"When I meet the man who killed my family... I want to be able to kill him. Make sure my teacher knows that."

Kurenai sighed, closing her eyes for a moment. "Loor... and Fury, no matter how much training we give you, no matter how much time we have, I don't think we can bring you that far. Either of you. That man's name is Orochimaru, and he's very dangerous. The most we can hope for is to give you enough skills to survive if you guys have another brush with him... that's it."

Fury nodded, making a small sound of understanding, and then looked at Loor, whose face had hardened. She looked angry, in the worst way. Such a face was one that could drown out other sounds, such as the happy chatter between Kiba and Hinata, and the monotone, almost Zen, comments from Shino on their conversation.

"Orochimaru..." Loor muttered, putting a name to the insane rage that she had been keeping under wraps. "Who was the other guy, then?"

"We don't know." Kurenai gave. "He has several subordinates."

There were a few more tense seconds, and then Loor finally calmed down, her face going back to her confident smile and nodding. "Right. Anyway, we've done what we came for, and neither me nor Fury have eaten in... well, since we both passed out at my place. I'm starved, and sleep isn't far behind food on the priority list."

Loor was right. In all honesty, her and Fury hadn't eaten in two days. You wonder how they even had the energy to fight.

Kurenai nodded. "Right then. You two are gonna need somewhere to stay tonight, on top of that..." She bit her lip, and then glanced up at her students, letting out a shrill whistle. "We're done for the day! Kiba, Hinata, Shino, come over here!"

Loor and Fury turned to face the three young nin as they walked up, watching as their sensai stood behind the two non-nin of the group. "These two need somewhere to stay tonight, and I don't feel like it's the best thing to put them up in a hotel by themselves. Can any of you three take them?"

The three seemed to think about it, and then Kiba nodded. "Sure, I'm sure someone can hang in my room... Akamaru here doesn't mind company." He snickered, petting his dog, who would be Akamaru. "I could take both of them, but it might be a bit of a tight squeeze..."

"I... ah... could take one..." Hinata offered. "...I don't think my father would mind..."

Shino had hit the ignore button again, or so it seemed.

Loor at once got protective of Fury. "I'll go with Kiba then." She gave quickly, glaring at the dog-boy.

"What's with that look, blondie? You got something to say?" Kiba gave, giving the glare right back. "What's that look for, you take me for some kind of jerk who's gonna get touchy with your friend in the middle of the night?"

"Kiba... leave her alone..." Hinata gave, hiding behind her headband again, poking her index fingers together while holding them up by her chest. "She just cares about her sister."

"She's tryin' to start a fight." Kiba gave.

"Maybe I am." Loor growled back. "I know your kind all too well, scruffy."

"Scruffy?" Kiba snarled. "You take that back right now or I'll...!"

Both Kurenai and Fury had gotten between them. "Onee-san, stop it!" Fury gave. "I'm not staying with him, so you don't have to glare..."

Kurenai was just giving 'the look' to her student, which made the dog-boy take on a sulky face. "Actually Fury... I think you are staying with him. These two will kill each other if left in the same room."

"What?" Loor snapped. "Not that I have anything against Hinata, but--"

"Your little sister will be fine." Kurenai said sternly. "Now then," She turned, sighing, reaching into a weapons pouch that seemed to be on everyone's person, including her, she pulled out what looked to be a few dollar bills. Loor raised an eyebrow though, looking at the stuff when Kurenai held it out to herself and Fury. "That should cover something to eat for the both of you, and a slight change in wardrobe."

Loor was skeptical. "It's Monopoly money..." She gave. At least, it looked that way, but she couldn't read the numbers on it.

"It's ryo, our currency. Loor, I suggest you get a shirt over that sports bra of yours. Not everyone needs to know that you're an early bloomer. Fury, might I suggest some pants with more mobility?"

Loor took the money from Kurenai and gave it to Fury, who had pockets. Both girls nodded, and Kurenai gave a long sigh. "Alright then... please, don't kill each other."

Kurenai walked off, and Loor started to glare at Kiba again. Kiba glared back for a while, and then sighed. "You two go find something to eat... and me and Hinata will meet you back here, alright?"

Loor glanced around. "Hey... where did that Shino guy go?"

Kiba looked around as well. "Damn he creeps me out... Don't worry, he probably walked off a few moments ago. He can handle himself."

Fury sighed, looking around. "Alright... so how long till we meet you two back here?"

Hinata thought about it. "A few hours... you guys probably want to look around the village too..."

Loor nodded. "I'd say three hours, but I don't have a watch."

"Sunset then." Kiba gave. "The sun is the best clock there is."

"Sounds great." Fury agreed, grabbing Loor's arm and starting to tug. She wanted to see Konoha, now that they weren't on a leash.

As they were walking away, Loor gave a slight smirk. "Y'know, I think this might be kinda fun."

"You're insane..." Fury muttered.

"Proud of it."

* * *

"A new student, huh?"

"She seems promising Gai, even for someone who's never had any formal training. Her determination is a lot like Lee's... She doesn't like to be beaten."

"I see... Kurenai, why?"

"...her and her sister... survived a brush with Orochimaru. Kakashi saved Loor at the last second... saved them both, and the best idea was to train them up so they could survive if the bastard came back to finish the job... but there's something else Gai. I'm surprised Kakashi didn't tell you."

"What?"

"You know we found Orochimaru outside Konoha, right?"

"Yeah, I know that part of the story."

"Yeah, we got there to find he was experimenting with a new jutsu... it was a glorified substitution to put it in best wording; good for running away. Instead of replacing yourself with a nearby object, you replace yourself with one far away. Kakashi was there to copy it right before he left... and the object he switched with... was a bit further away than he planned."

"How far, and why does this matter?"

"Gai, it wasn't our world."

"Are you sure?"

"With how little those two know about this place, or ninjas, or anything, I'm positive. Orochimaru would be more than likely to take advantage of that place. They have no shinobi at all... I doubt they could defend themselves from him."

"A whole world without ninjas... mind boggling."

"I know Orochimaru won't go after it just yet. He'll want more followers, but it's an easy target once his army is big enough. Our jutsu seems like magic to them."

"I see... so, you think this girl... Loor, will do well with Taijutsu?"

"Yeah. Not to mention she doesn't get along with one of my team members... she's a bit rough around the edges."

"You think she will get along with mine?"

"Tenten and Lee, at least. Neji doesn't get along with anyone."


	5. Strangers

Yeah, alright, I was busy last night, okay?

**No ownage.**

OWTF!!!

**Markings- Chapter Five  
****Strangers**

"Hm... I wonder what they have for food around here..." Loor gave quietly, her and Fury sticking rather close as they started walking through the village. "I mean... I don't even know who to ask if I wanted to find a good meal..."

Fury nodded. "This place is as big as the cities back home... or bigger."

"Yeah." Loor kept glancing about. "What's weird is that half of the buildings look like they were made by hand... not a single modern touch to them, but there's power lines and such... it keeps weirding me out... It's like people are choosing to live in the feudal era with light bulbs."

"Maybe the streets are just too narrow to get heavy equipment through?" Fury asked.

Loor thought about it. "Maybe so... I dunno... and I don't really care. I'm hungry!"

"HEEEEY!!"

Both girls turned around, but saw no one but other passing people. Confused, they both looked forward.

They should have looked up.

Dropping from the rooftops was Kony, who had a huge grin on his face. "Hey Loor! Who's this person?" He looked at Fury with questioning in his eyes.

Loor snickered lightly. "Hey Kony, this is my sister, Fury." She cast a deft arm over Fury's shoulder, giving a peace sign. "Don't worry, she's cool."

Kony nodded, still giving Fury the sideways look. "Hey, grandma, why is some of your hair silver?"

Loor's arm suddenly withdrew so she could use both arms to hold Fury around the stomach. "Hey, hey, hey! He didn't know, Fury-chan! Calm down!"

"I don't care if he didn't know, no one calls me grandma!!" Fury snarled.

Yeah, calling Fury grandma is a lot like calling Ed from Full Metal Alchemist short. It's always a bad idea.

Kony sunk away slightly, eyes wide. "S-s-s-sorry!" He yelped. "I just heard you guys were lookin' for somewhere to eat, and I was heading over to the Ichiraku ramen shop anyway, so I thought I'd show you guys the way!"

Both girls froze. "Ramen shop?" The asked in stereo. It was like waving raw meat in front of a starving wolf.

"Yeah, ramen is all the boss eats, so I picked it up, and it's a pretty good diet if you ask me!" Kony gave a big smile, even if it was missing a tooth. "C'mon, I'll show you guys where it is!"

Kony didn't have to ask twice. Both girls were happy to follow him, and Loor could smell it several blocks away when they got into the area, which was causing the sisters to drool.

The ramen shop itself was more like a ramen bar. Placed on a fairly open lane, the building was wide open without a door, instead with a cloth banner hanging down that was cut into sections with various symbols on it, Japanese kanji. Kony led them in, jumping up onto one of the seats at the bar, because that was the only seating there was. Behind the counter was a cook and his female assistant, both looking to be good natured and happy to serve.

The smell was even better inside.

There was a slight problem, neither Loor nor Fury could read the menu. Why? Because, despite the fact that everyone spoke English, everything was written in kanji. Fury had a slight education in Japanese, thus why she always called her sister 'Onee-san' and Loor called her 'Fury-chan' in return, but her kanji was rusty at best.

Due to this, they both ended up copying Konohamaru's order of grilled BBQ with 'the works.'

While they were waiting, Fury took the money out, trying to figure out the amounts with what little knowing of the language she had. After a while, she could figure out that Kurenai had handed over about three thousand ryo, which, like yen, didn't go very far. About five hundred went to cover what they were calling lunch, and the rest would go to some proper outfitting. Loor was still walking around without a real shirt, and Fury's jeans were starting to chafe.

"So," Kony called Loor's attention whilst Fury was figuring all this stuff out. "Why did Kurenai sensai want you guys?"

Loor gave a slight smile. "We may not be from here... but we're going to be getting some training from some of the other ninja in the village."

"Really?" Kony seemed impressed. "You guys must have some talent or something to skip the academy."

"Not really." Loor snickered. "It's more of the fact that we need training before we go home... and we don't have any time to waste."

"Did your way back home get really dangerous?" Kony asked. "Why don't you just hire someone to escort you?"

"Because Loor prefers to do stuff on her own..." Fury muttered, her head down, one hand holding one of the bills they had been given, the other hand tearing up a napkin as she concentrated. "She's pretty hard headed."

"Oh, you just wanna prove you can do it, huh?" Kony gave a smile, all smug that he had figured it out.

Loor nodded. "Yeah... I like to be powerful."

The conversation stopped when three bowls were put down on the bar. Loor at once turned her attention to what this place called ramen. Sure, it had the trademark noodles, but it had a bunch of other good stuff! The BBQ part became obvious, actual slices of the meat in the bowl, various other things floating about in the piping hot broth. It smelt great, and Loor instantly looked about for a fork.

To her either side, Konohamaru and Fury had found the jar of chopsticks, or hachi if you want it in Japanese, and used those to start scarfing down their meal. Sighing, Loor put aside the fact that she wanted a fork and grabbed a set herself. She had never been much good at it... but she guessed she'd be getting her fair share of practice.

Needless to say, the ramen was really good. Loor quickly mixed the noodles up with all the other bits, and bypassed the chopsticks by slurping it. Doing this, and then chugging the broth while it could still scold her tongue, she was actually the first done. She always ate fast; it was just her way of doing things. Kony was next done, and Loor restarted the conversation with him.

"So, where is your boss? I've heard you talk about him, but I'm yet to see the infamous Naruto."

Kony shrugged, paying for his bowl when they took his dishes, spinning a little in his chair. "He's on a mission right now... it's his team's first C rank mission, escorting a bridge builder to the Land of Waves, his homeland."

"C rank...?" Loor once again went into the confused world that she was getting to know rather well.

He nodded. "Yeah. You see, ninjas take various missions as they train to prove and sharpen their skills. The missions are separated into ranks of difficulty. D and C rank missions are really easy, and don't involve combat... they're usually tracking down lost pets in Konoha or escorting people and protecting them from road bandits. B missions are tougher, and A missions harder still... those can be life threatening if you make the wrong move."

Loor stared for several seconds. "They send ninjas to track down lost pets...?"

"Yeah, and a bunch of other stuff. Even the ramen shop here occasionally has a ninja team come in for the day and wash dishes, though they always get coupons in return." Kony smiled. "When I get out of the academy, I think the lower rank missions are gonna be fun... but it's the more challenging ones I look forward to." He then looked seriously at Loor. "Do you think I'd look good with one of those headbands... right here?" He indicated where his goggles were currently.

Loor tired to picture it, one of those steel plated headbands on the kid with the leaf symbol. She nodded. "I think you can do it." At this point, she had gotten to understand what those headbands stood for; they were proof that you were a ninja.

Just then, Fury finished her ramen and put her chin on Loor's shoulder. "Aww, how cute. Loor, are you playing mommy?"

Loor turned quickly in her chair, which knocked Fury off of her own, making her land on the bruise that was forming on her side from the impact with the ground when Kiba threw her. "Don't even say that." Loor gave, glaring. "You know I don't plan on it."

Fury's sense of humor didn't know the meaning of 'defeat.' "Aww, Okaa-san, you're so mean."

Okaa-san meant mother.

Kony was laughing, jumping down. "Well, I'll see you guys around! Good luck with your training and getting back home!"

"Thanks Kony!" Loor shouted back, getting off her chair and offering a hand to Fury. Fury nodded, getting up and paying for their meal. Loor didn't question her, seeing as she knew what she was doing. The next thing they had to do was find a shop that sold clothes, and after wondering for about half an hour and then finally asking one of the villagers (Which was an option Loor fought tooth and nail) they found one.

Different from the ramen bar, this place actually had one of those sliding paper doors with a sign outside about what was in the shop. Letting themselves in and shutting the door behind them, the shopkeeper greeted them with a smile.

It looked like someone had mixed Payless with Goodwill. The assortment of clothing was very random, and some of it was obviously repaired after usage. Loor didn't mind that, she preferred stuff that had been broken in. She started browsing a rack of shirts, a small smile on her face. All of this was functional wear. Not a single skirt in the place. A few skorts though, and in that case, the shorts part was made obvious because it went to the knees.

Fury was spending some time with a rack of pants and such, and settled on a set of dark blue loose pants that seemed to be all the rage with the members of Kurenai's team. When she asked to try them on, she found out why. They stretched a little, so there were no snaps to dig into your body, and they were very comfortable and let you move just about any way you wanted.

The price tag was a thousand ryo. Fury decided to wait till Loor had decided, in case she had to re-nig her choice.

Loor had pulled a pale green jacket off of the rack. It was simple, and slightly fuzzy to the touch, and had pockets, which was a must. She pulled it on over her shoulders, and accidentally flipped the hood over her head, causing both girls to start laughing. She took it off again to check the price, which was the same as the pants, leaving them with five hundred ryo to spare, which would probably be spent at the ramen bar at some other time.

Both girls went to change into their new stuff before they left, and as they were about to walk out, the guy behind the counter made an offer.

"Hey, girly, I'll take your old pants for two fifty."

Fury glanced up, and was about to accept when Loor stepped in. "Oh, so you can sell it for five hundred? How bout this buddy, full five hundred for the pants, and we call it equal exchange."

"Three hundred."

"Four fifty."

"Three fifty."

"Four hundred even."

The guy stood for a second, and sighed. "Deal."

Loor smirked, taking Fury's jeans from her and handing them over, giving the cash over to Fury to count. "So, you could tell we were new in town?" Loor questioned.

"Not very many kids come in here without headbands."

Loor glanced at this displays. Oh, so that was why all this stuff was made for moving. It was a ninja shop. She gave a slight smirk to the slick guy. "Can I propose a deal then? We're getting training, and I have a vague feeling that our current shoes aren't going to make the cut."

The guy looked over the counter at Loor's heavy boots and Fury's light tennis shoes.

"You'd be right." He agreed. "Your stuff is too heavy, and no good for traction on grass, and hers aren't gonna be any good on any natural terrain."

"Hey!" Fury growled at the insult at her choice in footwear while pocketing the amount they had been given, since it was correct.

Loor gave her a slight smile, and then turned back to the clerk. "Since that's the case, how bout we trade in for your best recommendation, plus a small fee?" She winked. "Seeing as I guarantee no one in this town is gonna find shoes like these anywhere. You can sell them to some guy that likes novelties."

There were a few tense moments, and then the guy nodded, coming out from behind the counter and taking them over to where they kept shoes. Both girls followed, and the guy bent to the bottom row. "These are standard, you'll even see most Jonin wearing them. Good grip, and last for fairly long."

Loor took one, looking at it from all angles. It looked like someone took a rubber boot and cut the toes out, leaving the thick base. It was also dark blue, almost matching Fury's pants. After a few moments, Loor nodded. "Sounds great. And?"

"I'll give you a hundred for the exchange."

"Perfect." Loor smiled as they went to the counter with two sets of these blue shoes, unlacing her boots and handing them over, pulling her socks off and 'tossing them in extra.' Fury did the same, though she wasn't so quick to part with her own socks, and stuffed them into her pocket, putting on these new shoes, which turned out to be pretty comfortable. They guy then handed over the extra hundred, which brought them back to a thousand ryo, and they went on their merry way with a promise of return business.

Once outside, Fury gave Loor a look. "How did you know he was giving us a bad deal?"

"The look." Loor smirked. "That guy has a horrid poker face."

"Wadda ya mean?"

"Fury, you know I lie, right? Like... _a lot._ To my parents, to my teachers, to everyone 'cept my friends in all truthfulness." She smirked. "Well, after a few years, you get really good at bullshitting. And trust me on this, a bullshitter can always see someone else selling shit. No matter how good their moves are, we can always see our own kind. That face he was making was 'I'm handing you a great deal' to anyone else, but to me it sang 'I'm reeling in a couple of suckers.' I wasn't gonna call him on it directly, so I bartered."

Fury nodded slowly. She didn't like Loor's habits of being deceptive. It always got her into trouble later, but this time around it scored them some extra cash. Loor had a lot of other 'less than favorable' traits to her too, like being two-faced. Being a leader type in their school, Loor would go-between groups to work out problems, and pretty much change her personality and story between the two groups to get an agreement. The weird part is that she could remember these lies and these personalities perfectly.

Loor never failed once she got crafty. Sometimes, it made Fury wonder if she even knew the real Loor, or if it was some face Loor put on to put her at ease. Still, even when questioning in her mind, Fury tended to trust her, even after getting led wrong. If Loor lied, she would usually make up for it some other time.

"Fury?"

"Huh?" Fury came up out of her thoughts, looking at her big sister.

"Is somethin' wrong? You're all quiet."

Fury gave a slight smile. "No, no, don't worry about me. I'm fine... just thinking."

"Worried, huh?"

Fury nodded. "Yeah... I mean, this is all well and good... but I miss home..."

"At least these people are doing this for us." Loor reminded. "I'm gonna feel a lot better going home, knowing we at least have a chance of getting away next time."

"Yeah, but we don't know if there's gonna _be_ a next time." Fury batted back. "Kurenai made it sound like this Orochimaru guy is wanted by a lot of different people... what if someone kills him while we're in training, and then the whole time we've been gone is for nothing?"

"Don't be so pessimistic." Loor advised, stopping and looking up. "Okay... we probably got another hour before sunset... I say we split up and explore a little bit, and then meet back at the training grounds." She smiled at Fury. "Wadda ya think?"

Fury nodded slightly. "Um... sure..."

"Alright, I'll see you then!" Loor grinned, turning down the street. "I'm gonna check out what that mount Rushmore thing is about."

Fury watched for a few moments as Loor took off running toward the huge stone faces in the mountains that bordered the village, and then turned in the other direction, walking slowly, making sure she didn't bump into anyone she didn't want to. She was so new, and she didn't want to get a reputation as rude or anything.

Well, that was the first five seconds. Then there was the realization that she was exploring a new place all by herself. No leash. No cage. No mom. When that finally hit, she took off running. It felt great! She was free, and she could go wherever she wanted to go!

Five seconds later, she tripped over something and went head over heels into a roll that was only stopped when her head was rudely introduced to someone's legs. She had squished her eyes shut when that happened. "Ow... Fury, you klutz..." She muttered.

The person she had hit moved slightly. "Hey... need a hand?"

Fury opened her eyes, seeing the feet of the person that was talking to her. He was wearing the blue ninja shoes... Slowly, she lifted her gaze to find this guy was dressed in an all purple outfit with a white wrap around his middle. He must have been seventeen at the least, had sliver hair pulled back into a ponytail, wore glasses, and had a headband with the infamous leaf symbol on his forehead.

He was also holding out a hand to help her up.

Nodding slightly, Fury took his hand, getting up. "Uh.. thanks..." She gave a slight bow. "Sorry about that. I guess I got excited."

"No problem." The guy replied, nodding. "My name's Kabuto for the record. Yours is...?"

"Fury." She quickly replied, rubbing the back of her head, which hurt.

"You're new in town, aren't you?" He asked with a knowing tone.

"How could you tell?" Fury snickered, glancing around. She felt a little nervous.

"Just a feeling. Do you want me to show you around? It's easy to get lost around here."

She shook her head no, rather quickly, her nervousness going up. A strange man offering to show her around? That was _asking_ for trouble. "Actually, I just need to get to the training grounds, so if you'd point me in the right direction I'll just get on my way, okay?"

Kabuto smirked; she had said all this very quickly. Still, he pointed to his left. "Go that way till you hit the woods, hang a right, and you'll go right there."

"Thank you!"

And she raced off.

Kabuto smirked. So he had found one of them, but where was the other?


	6. New Friends

Yep, new chapter, and the next one was finished when I got up this morning. I just decided that I'm not putting it up yet. Why? Because I'm mean.

**No ownage.**

OWTF!

**Markings- Chapter Six  
****New Friends**

Loor stood far below the stone faces with a puzzled look on her face. She wanted to know who these guys were, but was pretty sure she'd look like a retard for asking. Usually, when you had big ass landmarks like these, there was a thing like a sign or something with information on it, but even if there were, she wouldn't be able to read it.

Four faces were carved into this mountain, all seeming to glower down at the village, and it would seem that there was only one young man among them. The rest looked really old in their carved features, but who was she to judge age when it was carved in stone?

"Curious?"

Loor glanced to her left, where someone else was standing. It made her jump slightly, since last she checked no one was there, but she tried not to let it bother her too much. For all she knew, this guy was another ninja. Talking about this guy, he was dressed in one of the most traditional get-ups Loor had seen yet. He wore a white and red robe that went to the ground and a wide hat that looked like you could use it for sledding down a snow covered hill if you turned it upside down, like the trashcan lid shaped ones. She couldn't really see his face, seeing as there was cloth hanging down on the inside of the hat that blocked him on both sides, and his head was bowed, so it would be shadowed if she attempted to get in front of him and look.

Finally, she gave a light sigh. "You can tell?"

"I was one of the first people to know when you and your sister came here."

Okay, that one threw her. Just how many people knew about her and Fury anyway!? "And you are?"

"My name is Sarutobi... but most people refer to me as Lord Hokage."

"Hokage...? Where have I heard that before...?" It suddenly hit her. "Oh, you're Kony's grandpa!" She smiled, happy to figure out _something. _Then, she turned her attention back to the stone faces. "So... what is this thing?"

"They're our previous rulers... The first, second, third, and forth Hokage. My grandson, Konohamaru, is named after the first Hokage, who founded the village."

"Quite a name to live up to. So, you're the fifth then?"

"No." He answered. "I'm the third."

Loor glanced up, and then looked back down to see that Sarutobi had lifted his head up. Sure enough, his face matched the third one that was carved into the rock. His face was worn with the winds of age, and had a slight beard on his chin that was trimmed to a point. Obviously, Sarutobi was an old man, and if the order of the stone faces were correct, it would be the fourth Hokage who was the spring chicken.

"If you're the third... where's the forth?" She asked after a little while.

"The forth gave his life... almost thirteen years ago, to save the village." The Hokage bent his head again. Loor could tell by this action alone that there was something else on the subject, but the old man wouldn't be talking about it.

"That was nice of him..." She muttered, looking back up at those stone faces with a bit more respect. So, it kinda was like Mount Rushmore... but she liked these guys better. After what Kony said, about the Hokage being the strongest... she respected dead warriors more than she respected dead presidents.

"I hear you and your sister will begin training tomorrow."

Loor nodded, zipping up her coat a little bit more than she had it originally. It was still half open, but her sports bra looked like it could have been a low cut undershirt. "That's right. I'm a little nervous... but I know I can do it... and when I do, no one is gonna stand in my way."

"Stand in your way? Who would be standing in your way in the first place?"

"The girl who beat me sparring today... and that Ebisu guy... I'm not leaving till I beat them." Loor took on a very serious posture. "I don't like getting bested, and I always come back when I lose. Beating them will be proving that I'm strong."

Sarutobi seemed amused. "You don't care that they have years of training over you?"

"I don't care if they have a couple lifetimes' worth!" She snapped. "How can I go after the guy that did in my family when I'm getting knocked around by people that are weaker than him?"

"Is that your nindo?"

Loor froze on her tirade. She didn't get the question, which was one thing, but it was how he said it. Something on his voice... she glared. "What the hell is a nindo?"

Sarutobi turned away from the mountain, into the slight breeze that had been to their backs. "Your nindo... your ninja way. Once you know what it is, you'll know what strength is."

"Why is that?" She gave, turning to him slightly. He wasn't going to just leave her with some random Zen crap and leave.

"You can only be strong if you believe in something."

Loor stood there, and watched the guy leave. Her nindo huh? She didn't even plan on being a ninja though... what was the point of having a ninja way if she wasn't going the ninja way?

It made her wonder seriously what this training was going to be like. Was it going to be like the first days of choir, where you don't even sing, you just sit there and discuss the literature? God, that would suck. She was hoping for something a bit more crash-course than that, seeing as their lack of time had been thoroughly stressed.

Wait... time? Loor glanced around, and noticed something. The general lighting of the area had gone orange. Crap! She was gonna be late! She quickly struck off, running back in the general direction of the woods, able to pick her way through once she hit the trees.

And yeah, she was late. Everyone, including Fury, had made it there before her.

"Hey everyone." She gave, waving as she walked up. Kiba was sitting there, looking bored, and Hinata was hiding behind her headband again. Fury was sitting on top of one of the vertical posts, legs crossed, looking to be entertaining herself.

"You're late." Kiba barked, having been sitting on the ground, petting his dog, which never seemed to leave his side.

"Live with it, Scruffy." Loor growled back. She then looked at Fury. "How long have you been here?"

"All day..." Fury whimpered. "I ran into a strange guy who tried to get friendly, so I ran here and haven't left since. Remind me not to listen to you next time you say we should split up!"

"Oh..." Loor muttered. "Sorry."

Fury jumped down. "It's okay... I guess I'll have to learn how to deal with that as we go through training, huh?"

"You're right, they're separating us." She smiled lightly.

"Did the guy who talked to you have a headband?" Kiba asked, getting up, Akamaru crawling into his hood again.

"Um... yeah." Fury nodded.

"He was probably just trying to be nice, then. Most nin in the village aren't that bad." Kiba smirked. "That is, unless you piss 'em off."

Loor rolled her eyes. "Yeah, back it off, buddy boy. You put one finger on my sister and you're dead."

Kiba looked between Fury and Loor, and lightly poked Fury in the side, making her squeal. Loor at once tried to pounce, but Kiba jumped out of the way, laughing.

"Hey, I look pretty good for being dead!" He teased.

Fury grabbed Loor before she could try and hit him. "Onee-san... just leave him alone."

"Kiba..." Hinata gave, coming up the group. "You shouldn't be so mean..."

"I'm just messin' with 'em, Hinata." Kiba snickered. "C'mon Fury, let's get going."

Fury let go of Loor, who didn't attack, and came up slowly. Loor glared for a few more moments, and then sighed. "Fine, I'll trust you Scruffy... See you Fury." She waved, not bothering to watch dog-boy leave with her little sister. Instead, she turned to Hinata. "So... are we gonna get going?

Hinata nodded, showing her face for once and turning to walk. "I'm sorry about Kiba..." She gave quietly. "He's always like that..."

"It's cool, he reminds me of my ex." Loor laughed lightly. "I guess that's why we get along so badly." She then gave Hinata a look. "So, what's with you?"

"Hmm?"

"You have to be one of the most shy people I've ever seen. I can't say I've met you because you're hiding behind that little piece of metal." She smiled. "I'm not going bite you if you come out and say hi."

"Oh... sorry..." Hinata went a little red, embarrassed. "I guess I could be a little more assertive."

"You guess?" Loor smirked. "And I already got it."

"Got what?" Hinata asked, looking at her.

Loor smirked. "Hinata, let me explain something; everyone in this world has issues with something. We call them personality quirks, problems, or disorders. The main proof is half of them are caused by our upbringing and trauma. The rest is just how we are, and that makes us unique, but I've always been good at seeing that causes the rest of it." She smirked. "Riddle me this, is your mother around?"

"Um..."

"Thought so. And dad ignores you, yes?"

"No!" Her voice came louder, but hardly rivaled a whisper. "He... directs a lot of attention to my little sister... but that's natural, she's younger..."

"Keep telling yourself that." Loor shrugged, smirking. "Deprived of both parent figures, and seeing a great deal of attention being directed to a different sibling, you believe yourself unworthy of any attention at all... from anyone, right? I feel sorry for you when it comes to having a crush."

Hinata turned bright red at that last comment. "Well... ah... um..." Her hands came up, and she started poking her index fingers together again. "Well... there is this guy... but... I freeze up whenever he talks to me..."

Loor got a slight smile. She had a new patient. "What's his name?"

The shade of red on Hinata's face was one that Loor didn't know existed. It was probably named after her. "Na...Naruto..."

"And the infamous Naruto is mentioned again..." Loor rolled her eyes. "Is there no one in this town who doesn't like that kid?"

"Huh?!" Hinata seemed horrified at the thought of having competition.

"I met this one kid who worships the ground that guy walks on." Loor gave back, putting Hinata at ease. "Konohamaru... I think. I call him Kony for short."

"Oh..." Hinata nodded slightly. "Well... most people don't like Naruto... for no reason... they all ignore him."

"Besides you, and he doesn't know because you can't talk around him." Loor gave a slight smirk.

"Yeah..."

Loor put an arm around Hinata's shoulders. "You know, Hinata, I think I can help you out... but I have to get to know you first." She smiled. "I think we're gonna make good friends... because no offense, but it looks like you feel just as alone as he is."

Loor was kinda right. Hinata did feel very alone sometimes... and the prospect of a new friend was a good one.

* * *

"So this is Akamaru?" Fury asked, petting the dog that was in Kiba's hood, smiling lightly. "He's cute."

"Yeah." Kiba snickered. "I've had him since we were both little, and we did everything together. We still do."

"Aww..." Fury giggled lightly as Akamaru licked her hand, looking quite happy with the scratching he had been getting between the ears. "All we had at home were cats... and none of them liked me that much."

"Maybe you just weren't a cat person." He smirked, looking back. "Akamaru seems to like you just fine."

"Maybe... I like animals, but I don't get a whole lot of contact."

"Why not?" He questioned as Akamaru started climbing out of the hood, letting Fury pick him up and carry him. He had to be at least fifteen pounds.

"My mum... she doesn't let me get out much."

"Overprotective, huh?" Kiba smirked. "My mom is like the opposite. She'd drop-kick me outside if I didn't go on my own, and I mean that literally."

"It'll be a nice change then..." Fury liked the prospect of getting stronger. Loor had always been trying to train her, but Fury always felt as if she was getting nowhere. When sparring, she couldn't even take one hit, and Loor would claim that she hardly touched her. She never told Loor, but it made her feel so feeble... like she just didn't have it in her to be strong.

"Looking forward to training tomorrow?" Kiba asked.

"Looking forward to it, and dreading it."

"Can you do that at the same time?"

"Usually." Fury cracked a slight smile, and Kiba snickered. "What do you think Kurenai will be teaching me?"

"She'll probably focus on things that will bring up your speed and your strength at the same time." He smirked. "Most likely, the first thing she's gonna teach you about is chakra focus for dashing."

"Dashing?"

Suddenly, Kiba disappeared, appearing five feet ahead. "Dashing." He gave. "Moving faster than the naked eye can see. It's good to dodge and then counter, dashing back and then forward, taking the enemy by surprise. Also, if you're up against someone you know you can't take, you dash into the nearest area of trees, and run before they figure out where you went."

_That'll come in handy..._ Fury thought to herself. "Just as long as she doesn't give us homework."

"Doubt it." Kiba smirked. "Just be nice if something she tries to teach you doesn't work out. This is her first year as a sensai... she's still learning the ropes."

"Well, this is my first time getting any formal combat training, so it something doesn't work, it's more likely to be my fault than hers."

Kiba nodded. "Yeah... who taught you to move like that? You're pretty quick for not being through any ninja training at all, and half the time you didn't even look at where I was coming from."

"Loor." Fury gave quickly. "She's always been a fighter... and I wanted to learn, but she keeps saying I was never made for brute strength."

Kiba snickered. "Your friend is gonna learn really quick that brute strength isn't going to get her anywhere. Sure, she lasted pretty long with Hinata, but I'd wager to say that's the first battle Hinata has ever won."

"Really...?" Fury looked down. "Now I feel bad for cheering for Loor..."

"Why?"

"Loor's won a lot of fights... all the kids at home, even the ones four years older than her... they're scared of her. Most of the guys learned the hard way that you don't piss her off."

"What about you? Are you know for anything?"

"I'm known for not being there." Fury offered, deftly petting Akamaru again, not really thinking about it. "People tend not to notice me... like I'm invisible."

"Hey, that's a pretty good skill for a ninja to have." Kiba joked, giving a slight smile.

Fury didn't laugh. She just sighed, putting Akamaru back into Kiba's hood. "Loor casts a pretty big shadow... and I'm always trying to crawl out of it. Funny thing is... I'm a little frightened of what's going to happen when I do. I've _always_ been in someone's shadow."

Kiba gave her a look, and then gave a big grin. "Well, then training is gonna be really good for you, because Loor isn't gonna be around for you to sit in her shadow, and you're not sitting in mine, because I'll do what my mom does and drop kick you!"

That time, Fury did laugh. She couldn't help it.


	7. Chakra Focus

Alright guys, tomorrow I go back to school as a tenth grade student, and you all know what that means; yep, I update on Fridays only unless I have a damn good reason to update beforehand, or a long weekend. The upside of this 'Friday only' thing is that it's the same day I upload my home made comic to Smack Jeeves, so I can't forget, and that by the end of the week, I tend to have two chapters done, or more.

Now, with that little note out of the way…

**I own nothing.**

OWTF!!!

**Markings- Chapter Seven  
****Chakra Focus**

Kurenai sighed, up bright an early, waiting at the training grounds with the only one of her students that was on time that morning, who would be Shino, who would be staring at a tree, tracking a bug. Typical behavior for him, and though she was used to Kiba being late, it was out of character for Hinata.

Also in that clearing, at the current moment, was Might Gai, better known as Gai sensai by his team. He stood there, arms crossed, leaning against one of the posts in the area. No one said anything, though Gai looked to be slightly irked by how tardy his new student was. This Loor girl wasn't making a great first impression.

Everyone's head shot up when they heard shouting. Gai at once came out of his relaxed position, Kurenai tensed up, and Shino stopped tracking his bug at the sound of kids shouting and crashing through the woods.

Hinata and Kiba burst through at the same time, their charges nowhere in sight. "Kurenai sensai!" Kiba yelped. "Sorry we're late!"

Both were out of breath, as if they ran the whole way.

Kurenai at once expected the worst. "Where are Loor and Fury?" She barked.

Hinata stood up a little straighter, and Kiba gave a smirk. They replied at the same time, in stereo. "We were racing."

At this point, Loor appeared out of the woods, suddenly jumping Hinata, who was knocked over. "Finally! God you guys move fast, even when you're not dashing!" She was laughing, getting up and helping Hinata up. "Don't worry, Fury isn't far behind."

"Her and Akamaru... that dog is going to give her hell." Kiba snickered. "He kept tripping her up while she was running for fun."

"It's... OW!! Not funny!"

Everyone turned to see Fury coming out of the woods, carrying Akamaru, who was panting and looking all sorts of happy. Fury had all kinds of sticks in her hair and dirt on her clothes from falling down. Getting there, she put Akamaru down, who went to his owner at once, yipping. Fury sighed, going to her knees.

Loor snickered. "C'mon Fury, it's not that bad. You still kept up, even if he was tripping you."

"Yeah, but some of that stuff hurt..." Fury was picking a stick out of her hair.

Kiba snickered, picking up Akamaru. "Well, if it makes you feel any better, Akamaru says he's sorry for putting you in pain. I guess he's just used to rough housin' with me."

Kurenai sighed, relaxing. "You guys scared us..."

Loor snickered. "Yeah, sorry we were late... that was kinda my fault. Hinata couldn't wake me up, cause I don't wake up to noise and she didn't know to just shake me, so she went to go get help from Kiba and Fury... and Scruffy had his dog do it..." Loor growled in Kiba's general direction.

"But Hinata, you always get up early." Kurenai reasoned. "That wouldn't have made you this late."

Loor sighed. "I don't think you get it. Let's just say I had to take a shower before we got going, thank god I don't wear my normal clothes to bed."

"Kiba!" Kurenai crowed, looking at the dog-boy, who was snickering.

"What? He had to go anyway." Kiba shot back innocently.

"You're so dead next time, Scruffy!" Loor shouted, picking up a fist. "I swear, I'm gonna kill you in your sleep!"

"Kurenai..."

Everyone shut up and looked back at the one extra character in the area that no one had noticed. Loor had to stare at this dude. He was a real piece of work, or at least what he was wearing was a piece of work. To start it off, he had a black bull cut going on, bushy brows, and a green full body that looked to be... spandex. He wore the leaf headband around his hips, and a green vest with more pockets than Hagrid's coat in Harry Potter. He also had dark tan leg warmers and the blue ninja shoes.

According to Loor, he looked kinda cool, but she was sure Fury's thoughts were going 'Freak.'

"Can we get this over with? I do have a team waiting for me."

Kurenai nodded at him. "Sorry... I just got worried." She looked at the group of four in front of her. "Loor, this is Might Gai, who will be your sensai till Kakashi and his team get back and take over. He's going to give you the fundamentals of Taijutsu to work with, and then you'll be training with one of his students; Rock Lee. Keep in mind that all of his students are a year older than you and are very powerful, so don't go picking fights. You'll live to regret it."

Loor snickered. "Thanks, _mom._" She gave sarcastically, looking this Gai dude up and down again. After a few seconds... she gave a smile. This was going to be fun. "Alrighty then, let's go." She gave, walking over to him, shrugging her coat a bit higher onto her shoulders, and turning back for only a moment. "See you Fury."

Fury nodded. "Good luck, Loor!"

Loor smirked. "No worries, Fury. Just don't go getting yourself killed, eh?"

"Don't say that!" Fury squealed. Loor, at home, was an avid fan fiction author. In one of her fics, Fury had been in it for about six chapters, and then Loor's character said that line to her, and she died on her next mission. Loverly, no? Loor knew it bothered her, and winked, laughing lightly as Gai started walking. She followed, not really knowing what to say. She was tempted to comment on the outfit, but decided against it. She was one for quirky outfits herself, so it would be hypocritical to make a comment.

"Kurenai explained the situation to me." Gai gave, breaking the awkward silence as they came away from the training grounds that Kurenai's team was at. "She also expressed utmost secrecy about it, so none of my team knows. I hope you don't let anything slip."

Loor didn't like the way Gai said that. It was like he was testing her. "What, you think I'm gonna run around blabbing like a chicken with it's neck broken?"

He gave her a look. "I thought the expression was 'with its head cut off.'"

"Yeah, but that's not the way it really works. And they don't run, they flop." Loor smirked. "I should know, we have some at home. The nerves go crazy when you sever the connection between the brain and the body, and everything flops about for a few moments..." Her explanation trailed off at the look she was getting. "Sorry, mum's a butcher. I'm used to talking about that stuff."

"I'm just not used to hearing a girl say it." He snickered. "I like that. It's good to be unique."

"Yeah... well, right now it would be good to be unique and strong, so don't count on me slacking. I plan to learn as much as I can, as fast as I can." She glared ahead. "I already have my final tests all picked out."

"Hinata and Ebisu, right? Not easy targets, but there's nothing wrong with setting your sights high."

Loor nodded. "I always liked a challenge."

"You're going to get it. Lee's not going to go easy on you just because you're a girl."

"He better not." She glared up at Gai. "If he does, I'll knock him around. I expect everyone on your team to treat me like they'd treat anyone else, regardless of gender."

He seemed pretty amused at the image of Loor trying to knock around Lee. "Careful, getting angry like that isn't going to get you anywhere." He then gave an oily smirk. "How 'bout I make you a deal? You calm down and give my team a chance, and I'll make sure they don't hold anything back."

Loor gave this guy a look, surprised he was so quick to go and barter. Obviously, this guy had taught a few kids like her.

She smirked. That was cool. "Alrighty. Let's do it."

It felt like five seconds before they broke into a different clearing in the woods. Another team of three was standing there, and Loor was quick to size the three of them up. There was one girl with brown hair done up in twin buns and out of the way. She looked to be tough, and wore a peach sleeveless top and loose pants. When they walked in, she had been doing target practice with a bunch of little throwing knives, and by the look of the tree that was her target, her aim was perfect. Next on the list was a black haired kid that could have been Hinata's brother. They had to be related, seeing as he had the same white eyes, long black hair that had been tied off near the end, and a cream colored short sleeved shirt with darker pants that went just past his knees. At the current moment, he had just been standing idle, looking bored, white eyes scanning about.

The last guy looked like a clone of Gai, only shorter. Loor didn't have to ask who this dude was; it had to be the Lee kid that Gai had talked about. He wore the same outfit as his sensai, had the same haircut and even the same freaking eyebrows. Loor had to wonder if they were father and son. At the time, he had been working over a tree with his fists.

When Gai entered the clearing, everyone stopped what they were doing to look, and Loor felt all three pairs of eyes magnet to her and her lack of a headband that everyone in this club had. The girl and Hinata's clone both wore them on their foreheads, and Lee wore it around his hips like his teacher.

Loor gave a slight smile. "Hi."

The guy with the white eyes went back to looking bored, not saying anything. Loor was pretty sure she had just been written off as a loser, but didn't really care.

Gai smiled lightly. "Loor, this is my team. Neji," He indicated the boy with the white eyes, "Tenten," The girl, "And Lee."

Loor noticed the great amount of pride that was put on Lee's name. Tenten waved slightly, offering a smile that Loor returned. Lee stopped beating on the tree and walked over.

Shifting slightly in her spot, not really nervous, Loor sighed. It was nice to know that someone already ignored her. "Name's Loor for what it's worth. Nice to meet you all."

"You too." Tenten gave. "Maybe after Lee's done with you, I can help you out a little."

Loor snickered. "You make it sound like he's gonna work me over." She looked over at Lee, who was standing rather close now. "You're not, are ya?" She joked.

"I do not plan on hurting you unless we spar, where I cannot help what happens." Lee answered simply.

Gai leaned over slightly, trying to get on their level. "Loor said she doesn't want anyone holding back, Lee, you understand?"

"Yes sir, Gai sensai!" Lee gave, sounding very enthused.

Loor snickered, and just had to ask. "Are you two related by any chance?"

Lee gave her a look. "No. What made you think that?"

"The eyebrows, among other things. You two look a lot alike."

Lee looked slightly put off. "Everyone comments about the eyebrows..."

Loor rolled her eyes. "I didn't mean it in a derogatory way. I like it because it's different. Anyway, who cares if you have bushy brows? I have a unibrow forming, so what?"

Lee got up close to her, squinting slightly. "I don't see it..."

"That's 'cause I'm blond... it blends in, but you can feel the hair there." She pushed him off slightly, giggling. She didn't have the 'personal space' thing, since she was brought up in a full contact family, but it was a little weird to have someone else's face that close to hers. "Anyway, are we going to do this?"

"Right." Gai stood straight again. "Tenten, Neji, we'll be doing normal exercises today. Lee, Loor, feel free to break away from the group for your own training. Lee, you're in charge of her. You decide when she's had enough, and then you both can go."

Loor felt a death glare from Neji go to Lee, who didn't seem to notice, or did and ignored it because it was normal. He just nodded at his sensai and motioned for her to follow him as he went back into the woods. Loor sighed. More bushwhacking. _Yay_.

As they left the group behind, Loor quickly caught up to him. Lee seemed to be pretty determined, that was for sure. Loor already had a picture forming in her head, but she was going to keep it to herself for the time being. "Hey, Lee."

The boy in green spandex glanced back at her. "Hm?"

"What is Taijutsu? It was mentioned earlier, that you're going to teach it to me, and I have no idea what it is."

Lee's look flowed from curiosity to slight confusion. "You do not know?" He gave slowly. "Gai sensai was not kidding when he said you were an outsider. Ninja rely on three main techniques in battle, the first of all being Taijutsu, which is hand-to-hand combat. This is your strong point, so we will be training it after some work with your fundamentals." He paused. "Gai sensai mentioned that you have trained yourself for a few years... I find this interesting. Why?"

Loor smirked. "Promise you won't be offended?"

"Why would I be?"

"My reason would be... men. Where I'm from... there are a lot of sexist jerks that expect girls to affirm to a stereotype of being weak pushovers who will do whatever they say. Well, I had a mind of my own when I was little, and started fighting back when they pushed me. After a while, I decided to prove them wrong, so I'm always working to make sure I'm stronger than them... so I can always beat them." She then gave a light laugh. "I guess the con now is that I'm always looking for a fight. I feel like I always need to be proving myself."

Something in what she said seemed to strike something with him, adding onto Loor's mental picture. Oh yeah, her and Lee had some crap in common, she was sure of it. She was pretty sure determination was one of those things. "I am afraid that we may have a few men in Konoha that may think the same way, but let me say that I do not. Strength is not defined by gender, but how hard you work for it."

Loor flashed him a smile. "I knew I liked you. By the way, what was that Neji guy's problem? He was giving you the evil eye."

"Neji and I are rivals... because of my limitations."

"Limitations?" Loor questioned. "You don't seem that limited to me. Gai keeps giving you these looks like you're his kid and you just ran in the winning touchdown and a high school football game."

Lee snapped her a look, and she winced on the inside. _Note to self, stop making clever references from home._

"The other two ninja battle techniques are ninjutsu and genjutsu... Ninjutsu, various abilities done by releasing chakra from one's body in various forms, such as blowing fire or manipulation of the elements, and genjutsu, the power of illusion and confusing the mind. I... am incapable of both of them."

Loor was beginning to get why she was training with this guy. He couldn't do it, and she didn't know how. It wasn't that alone, probably. That would guarantee that the rest of his energy went to developing what he _did_ have. This kid was probably the best, and he was only a year older than her.

This guy was perfect.

"Neji believes that I should not be a ninja... that my destiny is something that I cannot fight, and that I have doomed myself to failure, but I have already vowed to be a splendid ninja without the powers of genjutsu and ninjutsu... that's my nindo."

There was that word again.

"I still haven't figured out mine..." Loor sighed. "I'm so new to this game... but I met the Hokage, and he told me that once I found my nindo, I'd know what strength was. I'm pretty sure it's something you can't force, but I need to get strong quickly."

He gave her a slight smile as they came upon an empty clearing in the woods. This was not a normal training ground, it was just an area where clear sunlight broke through and there was room to move about properly. "Just think about why you need to get strong, and you'll be close."

Loor nodded at him, going to think about it for a moment. Why...? Because she hadn't been strong enough... her family died because she was too weak to defend them. That was her job, the way she had been. Training at night, making a point of being strong, she took that burden on, and she didn't carry it at the most important of times.

"I have to be strong... to protect the ones I love." She muttered, quietly. She knew Lee didn't hear her, so she quickly shook her head, coming out of that strange mode and clearing her head. "Well, let's get started!"

Lee nodded. "First off, we need to get to the basics of your skills in battle. According to Kurenai sensai, you are good at being aware, utilizing senses other than sight, so we do not need to worry about that. Next would be a basic technique called dashing, which is good for dodging at the last second."

"Right." Loor nodded. "Or getting behind your enemy."

"Correct. This ability, for most, is done by using your chakra to push yourself a short distance quickly."

"You lost me."

He raised one eyebrow. "You do not...?"

"Remember, buddy, I'm clueless, so take it back to square one."

Lee nodded, sighing. "Right... chakra is your inner energy. Half of it is physical energy taken from every cell in your body. The other half is spiritual energy that is increased through rigorous training. Everyone has it, and most nin can bring up small amounts for dashing automatically. Since you have had no training, I doubt you can, so we will start with learning how to gather your energy within your body till it is second nature enough to dash without thinking."

Okay... _way_ DBZ. Still, he was the boss, so she nodded. "Alrighty then... how do I do that?"

"First, take a comfortable stance." Lee stood as an example, planting his feet. "Next, a proper hand seal helps to focus." He leaned over slightly while Loor copied his stance, watching him, as he brought his hands into a hand sign. He formed it with his index and middle finger up on both hands, putting them together with the thumbs touching in the back and the pinky and ring finger on the right hand over the ones on the left. Loor copied him slowly, wondering how making funny shapes with her hands was going to help her.

"Last, you want to relax and focus on bringing your energy to your center. You'll know it when you got it..."

* * *

"Because it'll feel like fire in your chest."

Fury, somewhere else in the woods, was doing what Loor was doing; learning about chakra. Kurenai was teaching her while everyone else was doing his or her own stuff. It felt strange to be singled out like that, but good to be getting hands on help. She stood with her eyes closed, slightly bent, her hands in what she was told was the sign of the ram.

She tired to think of how to find this energy Kurenai had described... this chakra. She had no idea, but focused on the hand sign instead of thinking, taking deep breaths, capable of feeling her whole body...

Then, she felt something. It wasn't quite fire, but she could say it was a couple of hot embers. She yelped, letting go of the sign, and the feeling, putting a hand to her chest. "What the hell was that?!" She gasped in shock.

Kurenai gave a slight smile. "You have to hold it. Try again."

Fury nodded, taking her stance a second time, reforming the hand sign, no matter how awkward it felt, and relaxing... feeling all of her person... focus... once again, she felt the warmth, but she did her best not to twitch at how strange it was. Instead, she encouraged it, like blowing on those embers and adding kindling. It grew, and spread, but she tried to compress it to her chest, to bring it to her center, as Kurenai had told her.

"Right..." She gave slowly, opening her eyes. "I think I got it..."

"Good." Kurenai nodded. "I'm going to see to the rest of my team. Stay here and practice moving it about."

"Moving it?"

"Yes. It's your energy, and we have to teach you how to control it like everyone else can. Every time you lose it, just bring it up again, okay?"

Fury nodded slightly, not mentioning that the effort she had already given it had made a bead of sweat go down her back. She had hardly moved, but she felt like she had done a couple hundred sit-ups. Kurenai turned towards the woods and left, and Fury put her head down again, going back to the energy that was still held in her. Move it... _right._ Kurenai could have shed some light on how to do that, but Fury didn't stew on it for long. She just tried moving it about in the same fashion that she had brought it up, by relaxing and focusing it on a particular point.

She tried moving it towards her right shoulder, and it puffed out, leaving her feeling strangely cold.

She was aware of the back of her shirt becoming wet, and had to pause to wipe sweat from her brow. This was so hard!

"Oh, Fury. Fancy seeing you here."

Fury glanced up from what she was doing, looking over to see a particular boy wearing an all purple outfit and glasses with silver hair. She had to think a moment before she came up with his name. "Oh, Kabuto!" She gave a very slight smile, waving as she remembered what Kiba said. If they had a headband, it wasn't a creep.

She still felt creeped out.

"What are you doing out here?" Kabuto questioned, looking around.

"Training." Fury gave a slight smile. "Me and my sister have to get strong before we go home."

"You have a sister?" Kabuto seemed quite interested. "Where is she?"

Fury shrugged. "Somewhere else in the woods, training with this Gai person and his team." She pushed her hair behind her ear, taking her stance again. "Hey... you wanna help me? I'm having some issues with this whole chakra thing..."

"You don't know...?"

"Yeah, Kurenai gave me a funny look too, and she knew how clueless I was."

He nodded, walking over. "Well, by how much you're sweating, I'd say you're trying too hard."

"Hm?" She gave.

"You don't need to bring up all your energy at once. Just a little bit in a controlled amount." He gave her a slight smile. "It's all you really need till you start practicing jutsu."

"R-right..." She felt slightly embarrassed, putting her hands together once more, closing her eyes, and trying to do it. She heard Kabuto chuckling.

"Now you're all tense. Relax... chakra focus is a natural function of the body. People do it on accident sometimes. You don't have to force it."

She gave a nervous giggle, giving a huge sigh of air while trying to calm herself down. Why was she so damn jittery? He was a leaf ninja, which meant he was okay. She didn't have to worry.

She just felt like she'd met him before.


	8. Begin Training, use Your Gifts

I'm sorry it took so long!! Oh well. Moving on, I have this chapter and chapter nine for you, and chapter ten if I finish it before the weekend is out.

**No Ownage.**

OWTF!!!

**Markings- Chapter Eight  
****Begin Training, Use Your Gifts**

Loor had been standing in the same place for about an hour, still trying to conquer the feat that Fury had already pulverized by that time. Where Fury had felt a roaring blaze, Loor had hardly been able to conjure up a spark or two. Not that she quit, she stood there, perfectly still, with her hands the way Lee showed her, head down, eyes closed, and feet apart. She would keep trying, but with every passing moment, every failed attempt as she tried using new tricks of the mind, she became more and more frustrated.

Lee stood dutifully near her for all of this time, giving bits and pieces of advice as they came into his mind, trying to help her, but she just couldn't get it that way.

She had been sweating after her first few failed attempts, which at least showed that her body knew what she was trying to do, and that it was a simple matter that she was doing it wrong. As time ticked by, the air also became warmer, making her coat go from practical to stupid, but she didn't bother to take it off as it started to bother her. She wasn't going to quit. She refused to pull back from her first bit of training till she was victorious.

She heard him let out a sigh, proof that he, as a teacher, was getting frustrated as well, or at least unsettled that he couldn't help her any more.

"Don't do that..." She growled. "I'm going to get it."

"I am sorry." He replied.

"Sorry for what? You're doing what you can and not a bit less."

"Yes, but I simply wished we had the time to teach you how to do it my way."

She lifted her head, opening her eyes. "Your way?"

"Remember that I am unable to use the other jutsu in the ninja arsenal, yes?" He asked. He was sitting by a tree, leaning back on it. "It is beyond my incapability of releasing chakra from my body, but simply that I cannot move it. All of my chakra is permanently installed into each part of my body, impossible to move. The most I can do is increase the amount there is by training endlessly."

"But..." Loor was getting it now. "You need to be able to move it to dash like any other ninja, to keep up, so you found your own way."

Lee nodded. "The truth is that I do not use it at all to help my movements. My speed is all my own."

That was a tad odd. So Lee could dash like the others, but he moved faster than the naked eye could track on his own? Incredible. "Wow..." Was all Loor could give. To think that someone could move that quickly on their own was downright scary. "How do your enemies slow you down enough to attack?"

"They do not have to, I slow myself down." Lee seemed all sorts of smug as he reached for his leg warmers, pulling one up to show her that he was wearing leg weights. "They may not look like much, but I wear them on both legs, two hundred pounds each."

And he had been walking like it was nothing before... Lee seemed to notice the slight shock on her face, and put the leg warmer back over the weight, getting up. "Alright, let us get back to it."

"R-right!" She nodded, putting her head back down quickly. She was suddenly tense, but she just found out the guy training her could probably lift her up with his pinky finger. Two hundred pounds? Per leg? How insane was that? How did he even walk??

"Relax," He coached, and she could sense him walking in a circle around her. "Bring your focus to the hand sign and feeling your own body, and attempt to bring all the energy and awareness to your center, your chest, and hold it there."

She took a few deep breaths, trying to get calm, and do what he told her. She closed her eyes again... okay... be aware, and pull it in... she tried to picture a black hole or something in her chest to help her, something that would drag everything in, but she didn't get much. Just a little spark, like all the other times, and that spark snuffed out when she tried to strengthen it. All she got for her efforts was expanding the now large area of wet on the back of her shirt.

Loor wanted to stop thinking about how long it was taking, how little her efforts were doing when the one hour they had already spent went to two, and Lee had gone to beating up trees again as she stood there, starting to shake. Whatever she was doing, it was beginning to hurt like an overworked muscle. She had only paused to wipe sweat from her brow every now and then, feeling the slowly coming noon sun that would beat down on her as she was yet to get even a slight focus. It was at that point that Lee forced her to take off her coat, lest she get overheated and sick, and she still refused to even think about quitting.

Her mind went over all the advice, all the stuff she had heard, about chakra and bringing it up. It was a natural function of the human body, so she should be able to do it... everyone had it, as it was their inner energy... it would feel like flames in her chest, burning up her heart, but in a good way...

And people sometimes did it on accident. It struck her mind, that sometimes people did it without meaning to. Her mind scrambled. When had she ever felt fire in her chest before?

She didn't have to think long.

Every time she was in a fight, she felt it at some point, and that was usually the point of victory, the point that she gave them that one hard smack across the face that sent them reeling. The more she thought about it, the more sense it made. Loor already had brought chakra up at various other times in her life, without meaning to, with almost every fight she got into at school. Those finishing blows she dished out, the ones that she could never do outside the heat of the fight, were powered by some boost she had always blamed on adrenaline.

She focused her mind on the strongest memory of such an event, getting a slight smile as she coupled it up with the sign she was making with her hand. At once, she felt a flow as spark went to ember, and then to flame.

She yelped at it, but didn't let go of it, just letting her eyes come open. "I got it!"

Lee turned, and gave her a smile. "Good work. Now move it around."

"Move it... got you..." Loor was happy that she had a handle on it. Moving it was as simple as it had been in her past, when she didn't realize it, where she could shift it to a fist and give an extra burst of power into an attack.

She felt more sweat going down her now bare back though. Doing it like this was very tiring, and she felt her arms beginning to shake. She had spent so much time figuring the first part out that she hardly had energy for the second part.

She couldn't stop now though... not while she was making progress. She knew Lee was watching her intently as she started shifting this flame. He seemed to know she was getting it, and kept giving her that little smile of 'I know you'd do it.'

She gave that smile back.

"How long am I moving this thing for?" She asked after a while. It felt strange trying to force it down into her legs, but she did it anyway.

"Till you think you are ready to be finished."

"Finished? This is all we're covering today?" She huffed slightly, trying to pin this energy to her feet, but it didn't want to stay. It was like trying to force two like sides of a magnet together.

"You are getting tired. You should not push yourself too hard."

She glared at him, feeling the flame wane slightly at first before intensifying with the emotion that shot through her. "I don't think you get it, Lee. I have to get powerful quickly, so I don't have time to be taking it easy! And I don't care if I have to stay here moving chakra around all frickin' night before we go to the next lesson, I'm not moving till we're done with this one!"

He gave her a look, slightly confused by the outburst of temper. "Why?" He finally asked.

"There is someone very powerful that I've met, and he doesn't like me that much. I have to get powerful before he comes back and takes away any more people that I love. I need to protect them, so I can't afford to stand idle. I don't know when he's coming back."

"Any more?"

She snorted. "Never mind it."

"You have already said it. Who else has he taken from you?"

She shook her head, and simply shut her mouth, going back to trying to pin her energy to her feet. He watched her for a few moments more, the look on her face. He seemed intrigued by it, the fact that she refused to back down, even though he knew she was going to lose what strength she had left pretty soon.

"When you collapse, we will be done." He finally said. "And we will resume tomorrow."

Resume? Who said Loor was going to quit? She was going to stand for as long as she could, even if that was well into the night.

* * *

"Kabuto, what are you doing here?"

Both Fury and the forementioned silver haired teen glanced up to see Kurenai returning to the main clearing of the training area. She didn't seem to be angry that Kabuto was around, but just a little surprised. Kabuto, in response to her, shrugged slightly. "I just wanted to make sure Fury made it here okay yesterday after running into me."

"Literally..." Fury muttered.

"That was very kind of you," Kurenai gave. "But you realize she is training, right?"

"He's helping me, actually." Fury informed her teacher.

"Oh. So you can move it around now?"

Fury nodded, giving a slight smile.

"Then take the hand sign away, and still hold it." Kurenai gave a slight smirk. "It has to become as natural and second nature as it is for anyone else, and the first part is removing the seal that made it easy."

What Kurenai directed her to do was easier said than done. Fury had been sure that removing the hand sign would be easy, since it meant nothing to her, but as her fingers came loose from one another, she started to shake at the sudden effort she had to put into keeping even the slight hot coals that Kabuto had told her were enough. Still, she closed her eyes, mentally blowing on those coals, making them glow, as she moved her hands out to her sides, holding them straight out. _I can do it... I can do it..._

Kurenai gave slight applause as Fury stood straight, the smile on her face saying she still had it.

Five seconds later, Fury feel to her knees, panting.

Kabuto gave a slight laugh. "I think she's done for the day." He came over to Fury, patting her back and helping her to sit on her rump instead up supporting her weight on her arms. "Not bad for a newbie."

"Kabuto, she needs a teacher, not a cheer leading section." Kurenai told him, walking up and kneeling near her student. "Anyway, don't you have training today?"

"No. My team took a simple D rank this morning. We finished a while ago." He smirked. "Still, I should go eat something. Good luck with your training, Fury."

"Lunch doesn't sound like a bad idea..." Fury muttered before looking up at Kurenai. "So... are we gonna do more, or are we just gonna sit here?"

Kurenai shrugged. "Actually, everyone is going to be finishing up soon and heading for lunch. Generally Fury, training only takes up half of a team's day. We recognize that they're still kids and that they still have lives beyond being shinobi." She got up, offering her student a hand. "So why don't you follow Kabuto into town?"

Fury nodded, taking her hand and getting to her feet. "Hai!" She glanced to her right to see Kabuto, and quickly ran to catch up. "Hey! Wait!"

He stopped, turning slightly to see her running up. "Hm?"

"Got room for one more? I'll pay for myself, just tell me where we're going."

Kabuto stared at her for a few moments, and then gave a smile and a nod. "I was just heading to the ramen bar. It's a great place for a meal, I have to admit."

"Does everyone in this town love ramen?" She asked with a dry tone, both of them starting to walk.

"Enough for the ramen bar to have a commanding amount of profit every year." He shrugged. "I guess a lot of shinobi go there for the traditional style ramen. It has everything the body uses during training; carbohydrates and protein. Besides that, the various other vegetables and such that come in a bowl of ramen help fortify strength. You can call it the shinobi's meal, though I'm sure there's better stuff out there. Ichiraku's is just convenient and fairly cheep. Let's face it, not very many genin are rich."

"Genin?" Fury questioned.

"Trainee level shinobi." Kabuto clarified. "Usually, by my age, genin have advanced to the chunnin level..."

"Why haven't you?" She asked, curious. Still, she suddenly felt bad for asking. "Oh, s-sorry! You don't have to say if you don't want to..."

"No... it's fine." He sighed, looking forward. "You see, to become a chunnin, you have to pass the Chunnin Exams, which are a series of difficult tests to make you prove that you're worthy of advancing to the next level. I've failed seven times... I'll be applying again during the next ones." He gave a halfhearted chuckle. "They say the eighth time's the charm."

"Seven times... man, and I always felt horrible for having to retake a test once..." She thought about it. Those Exams sounded like something Loor would enjoy... proving yourself. Goodness knows she'd want to decimate everyone else there and leave some stuff for the record books. "How often do the hold them?"

"Twice a year."

So he had been trying to pass for four years. "Well... I hope you make it this time. It has to be frustrating to fail over and over again."

"It is." He agreed. "But I'll just keep doing my best..." He then stopped, thinking. "Hey, you mentioned that you had a sister... I wonder what she's doing for lunch."

"Oh no!" Fury yelped. "I have all of me and Loor's money because I had pockets! Even if Loor wanted to go find something to eat... oh, and I know how much she hates mooching, so she wouldn't let anyone else pay for her... She'll go without lunch if she has to..."

"That's not good for someone in training." Kabuto glanced about. "We should go find her."

"Yeah... She's training with Gai's team..."

"Let's go." Kabuto offered her a hand so she wouldn't fall behind.

It felt strange, but she took it anyway.

* * *

Lee had said that when Loor collapsed, they would be done for the day. Well, apparently that wasn't true, because Loor had collapsed several times by now, but she just kept getting back up. She'd shrug Lee off when he'd try to help her up, insisting she did it on her own. She even told him off for staying, telling him that he could go back to his own team or just leave, that she'd be fine on her own, but he wouldn't listen. Chakra deprived was not a good way to be when in the middle of the woods. She didn't know the way back, and there would be trouble if she ran into someone looking for a fight.

She had just about pinned the energy to her feet for the second time that day when she lost it, and fell not to her knees, but nearly onto her face, saving herself with her hands, panting, sweating. "...damn it..."

Lee, currently, had been doing circles around her in boredom, on his hands. Just like every other time she fell down, he pushed off of the ground to land back on his feet, coming over to see if she was done yet. She beat him to the question, shaking her head no. "I... can't quit..."

"You should."

Both Lee and Loor looked over to see a silver haired boy wearing a purple shirt and pants with a white wrap around his middle, wearing glasses and the leaf headband. Loor spat at him, pushing herself to her feet again as Fury came into view behind him. "Who are you...? And what... are you doing... with Fury?"

Fury gave a look of concern, letting go of Kabuto's hand to run up to her sister. "Loor, are you okay? You look... well... tired.."

"I'm fine." Loor gave sharply, forcing herself back to breathing evenly, even if it hurt. "Who's the Harry Potter wanna be over there?"

Fury glared at her for the derogatory nickname. "His name is Kabuto, the guy I ran into yesterday. He came to see me and help out in training."

Kabuto gave a slight wave. "We were just heading to lunch when Fury remember she had all of the money you two share, and decided to come get you."

Loor gave a slight chuckle. "Oh, I see." She then glanced at Lee. "I guess we are done for the day... same place tomorrow?"

Lee nodded. "Gai sensai has put me in charge of you, so I assume that you will be needing somewhere to stay. If that is the case, my door is open."

"Great... if knew where the place was."

"I will find you near the end of the day."

"I'll hold you to that." She turned back to Fury and Kabuto. "Which means I'm free for the rest of the day, so let us move on."

Kabuto took the lead as Loor and Fury fell in line with each other, quick to talk about how their first day of training went, though Loor didn't want to say much about hers. Fury knew how much Loor hated admitting that she was having an issue, how much Loor hated to complain without being able to do anything about it. So their talk was not on shortcomings, but simply on all the stuff they did right that day.

Loor felt a minor spark of envy when Fury talked about how easy it was for her to focus her chakra, and how she'd probably be learning how to dash the next day. She kept it to herself, but she couldn't help being irked.

In front of them, Kabuto looked not to be listening. Little did they know, he was practically memorizing every little thing worth notice. When they made it back into town, he conveniently excused himself, saying that he had forgotten a previous engagement.

Fury thought nothing of it, but Loor had been suspicious when she first saw the guy. His face alone screamed 'snake.'

* * *

"Have you found them, Kabuto?"

"Yes, Lord Orochimaru... they're both in the village, and I doubt they're leaving any time soon. They're training."

"Training...?"

"Apparently no one felt right sending them home without them being able to defend themselves."

"..."

"Lord Orochimaru?"

"I believe this could work to our advantage... make sure to help both of them on their way to power... and plant the idea in the younger sister's head that they shouldn't leave... that they should follow the shinobi way."

"My I inquire as to why?"

"Think, Kabuto. If they become stronger, and then we bring them to our side... their world would be an easier target if we had two of _their_ people on _our_ side."

"...interesting."

"You look like you want to argue."

"The older sister is hardheaded. I doubt she'd join after watching you kill her family."

"No matter... I can always bring her by force if I have to."

"You're not thinking...?!"

"Both of them... Kabuto, I think it's time you learned that jutsu. The younger sister... will be yours."

"...thank you."

"Don't disappoint me."


	9. Wanted

And that will be it for the update this weekend. See you punks next week!

**No ownage.**

OWTF!!

**Markings- Chapter Nine**  
**Wanted**

Loor sighed, breathing in the scent coming off of the bowl she had just ordered, mixing up the noodles and bits of meat the way she had the day before. "So, why were you holding that Kabuto guy's hand?"

Fury was already eating, and swallowed before she spoke. "So he didn't lose me. He's been a fully fledged ninja for four years, so I probably wouldn't have been able to keep up."

"You don't find it odd that a seventeen year old would just randomly befriend you?" Loor asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Why are you so suspicious?"

"That kid just creeps me out, that's all." Loor pushed her hair out of her face, tucking it behind her ears. "I'm not quite sure... I just feel like..."

"You've met him before?"

"Yeah." Loor bit her lower lip. "But that's impossible... not unless..."

"You don't think so, do you?"

"I'm not sure." Loor managed to get some noodles with her chopsticks, eating it quickly while thinking. "It's a possibility... but I don't quite remember what those guys looked like." She snorted. "Damn what the mind does..."

"Wadda ya mean?"

"Less than favorable memories are things that the mind suppresses, generally. It would explain why I don't even remember most of what happened, just that I watched my whole family die, and the family dog, for what it's worth. So shoot me if I remembered what either of those guys looked like... all I remember are Orochimaru's eyes."

Yellow, and slitted, like a snake. The memory made Loor shiver.

"Freaky." Fury gave, wolfing into her food.

Loor nodded. "Tell me about it. I guess we can't jump to conclusions. I mean, anyone we meet could have been the other guy, but he isn't going to be walking around with a sign on his back that says; 'Hey Loor and Fury, come get me!' Even though it would be nice if he did..." She trailed off. "We just have to be apprehensive."

With that, Loor quickly downed her bowl like she ate every other meal in the world; as if it was her last. She couldn't help it. She believed in doing things quickly and then getting on her merry way, where Fury more or less picked at hers until it was gone.

"So... you managed it without the hand sign, huh?"

Fury nodded, swallowing her current mouthful. "Yeah... Kurenai looked pretty impressed when I got it first shot."

Loor smiled. "Well, it's nice that you found something you're good at. The way I'm going, it looks like the fundamentals are going to be tough for me."

"You'll get it. C'mon Loor, you're great at everything else. It won't take long before you start kicking ass at this too."

"I'm just no so sure anymore... and that Lee kid I'm training with... I feel like such a weakling."

"Why's that?"

"The guy has leg weights, right? Two hundred pounds each."

Fury had been drinking the broth out of her bowl. When she heard that, she nearly spat it across the room. "Two hundred?! How does he walk? I didn't even know he had weights! What are they made out of, lead and gold mixed together?"

"I have no idea. But just to know that a kid no more than a year older than me is to that kind of level... and that the Orochimaru dude is even stronger... it makes me feel a little... I donno... out done."

Loor glanced over when Fury slammed her bowl down. "Who are you and what have you done with Loor?"

"Huh?"

"C'mon, you don't talk like that!" Fury glared. "You go around being number one in everything! You fight, you're smart, and to top it all off you're pretty! I know you better than to listen to all this crap about backing down! If you're gonna talk like that, you're not my big sister! If I can do it, you can do it, and that's a fact."

For a few seconds, Loor just stared at Fury. It was true, Loor could have been a dictionary definition of confidence, and here she was...

Backing down?

Never.

Slowly, Loor's face pulled into a smirk. "Right. I just have to work harder. You just have to promise me something, Fury."

"What?"

"When that Kakashi guy comes to take over, we're gonna spar to show each other what we learned... and I don't want you holding anything back." She put her hand out. "No holding back?"

"No holding back." Fury agreed, taking Loor's hand and gripping as they both pulled on the link before letting go. Fury finished eating, paid, and they got going on their way. Loor still wanted to show Fury the great stone faces, so the girls quickly ran off to them, laughing while dodging through people, suddenly full of energy, despite their full day.

When they got to where Loor had viewed it from the day before, both of them were panting, and looking up.

"So... did you find out what these things were yesterday?" Fury asked, catching her breath.

"Yeah, actually." Loor stretched slightly. "It's a lot like Mount Rushmore... you see, the ruler of the village is called the Hokage, and all of the guys up there are past rulers..."

"Oh." Fury nodded in understanding. "Who told you this?"

"The one who's still alive." Loor pointed at the third face. "He took over after the fourth Hokage died, I guess. His name is Sarutobi..."

"Sarutobi?" Fury questioned, looking at the third face. "Saru means monkey..."

At that random bit of information, both girls started to laugh. Fury was the first to sober up though, taking a deep breath. "You probably weren't that respectful towards him when you talked with him, were you?"

Loor smirked, shrugging. "I don't act very respectful towards anyone. What am I supposed to say? Hello mister Hokage, sir?"

Fury gave her a look. "If this place is as Japanese as I think it is... the proper way to address him would be Hokage-sama."

Loor couldn't help it, giggling again. "Or Monkey-sama!"

Fury rolled her eyes slightly, cracking a little smile. "Or that... I guess." She looked back up. "How do those guys even become Hokage anyway? They all old... cept for the forth one..."

"By being the best." Loor gave. "The strongest."

"Oh, don't tell me you wanna be Hokage now?" Fury asked with a laugh. "We don't even live here."

"I could never stand having to do that... I'm a spur of the moment kinda gal, I'd never be able to run a village. Anyway, I'd have to get in line, because I've met one kid who says he's gonna be Hokage, and then his buddy Naruto after that." Loor snickered. "You remember that kid, Kony? His grandpa is the Third."

"And that kid is the one who has to get in line, because I'm gonna be the Fifth long before he is!"

Both girls turned around to see Kiba walking up, Akamaru on the ground next to him.

"Well, well, Scruffy, how ya be?" Loor smirked.

"Can it, Blondie." Kiba snipped back. "Anyway, Kurenai just told me to keep an eye on you two. Y'know, make sure you don't blow up anything and whatnot."

Akamaru barked at Fury, wagging his tail. She smiled, picking him up and petting him like she had the day before. "We weren't gonna do anything though..."

Loor smirked. "Yeah, don't you see the halo?" She indicated an invisible circle above her head, and then put her hands together like she was praying.

"Yeah, sure," Kiba snickered. "You better push those horns back in though, because they throw the whole image off." He turned his attention away from Loor. "Hey, Fury, where did you get off to so quick after training? I thought you were gonna wait up for me."

Fury giggled slightly, embarrassed. "Hehe... Kabuto invited me out to lunch, and then we went and found Loor... and then he left, saying he had promised to meet someone else at the same time."

"Jerk." Kiba snorted, petting Akamaru, who seemed rather content in Fury's arms. "You don't invite a nice girl out and then cancel."

Fury felt herself blushing. "W-w-well, I'm sure he had a very good reason... I mean, everyone forgets things!"

He shrugged. "I guess so... Hey, I was wondering if you wanted to come and hang out, maybe meet my sister."

"You have a sister?" She asked, slightly surprised. She hadn't seen any sign of another sibling the night before. On the other hand, she had gone to sleep pretty quickly. "Sure, I'd love to, but I'd have to ask..." She looked over Kiba's shoulder.

No one was there.

"...Loor?" Fury didn't take long to put two and two together. "Aw crap, she's off being little miss independence again..."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that Loor saw Kurenai sending you to hang with us as some sort of moderation on her behavior, maybe even a type of protection or guard... That kind of stuff pisses her off. She probably ran off somewhere."

"She'll live." Kiba gave with a smirk. "I doubt she's gonna get into any trouble with that attitude of hers. Anyway, it's not like there's some ax murderer out there, looking for you guys."

Fury whimpered quietly, but said nothing. "Well... I guess she'll be okay..."

"Right. So, you wanna go?" He asked. Akamaru at once started nuzzling and licking her, as if he could persuade her to come if she didn't want to already. Of course, this caused her to laugh lightly.

"Take it easy, Akamaru!" She giggled. "I'll go, I'll go!"

Kiba snickered, taking his dog, who whined about going back into his owner's hood. "Yeah, yeah, I know Akamaru." Kiba snickered.

"Do you actually understand him?" Fury asked, cocking her head, starting to walk.

"Yeah." He replied, snickering. "And it helps, mainly because Akamaru has a bunch of stuff that is all kinds of useful in battle."

"Really?" She kept petting the dog, which made Akamaru stop whining, the tail going again. "Like what?"

"Like someone else's chakra levels... Generally, Akamaru can give me a heads up on what I'm dealing with, before I deal with it. We also have a few jutsu that we use together, like this one ninjutsu that changes him to look like me, he can even talk!"

Fury snickered. "You should use that one around Loor some time. She thinks one of you is bad enough..."

"I might... but that's a battle thing... I think Naruto is the only one who uses his jutsu just for fun."

"Naruto?"

"Another ninja who's my age. He was the class clown, always good for a laugh. He goes around doing this sexy jutsu thing that turns him into a naked girl to mess with all the teachers in the academy. You should have seen Iruka sensai when he pulled it. The guy was halfway across the room!" He laughed, and she giggled, even though she didn't know who Iruka was. The idea of randomly turning into a naked woman during school to mess with teachers was funny. "Naruto told me it even works on the Hokage, but I don't believe him. I mean, seriously, the Hokage is a powerful top ninja, not to mention he's an old guy!"

Fury tried to picture the stone face she had seen and make it comprise in utter surprise and lust. It was pretty funny. "This Naruto guy sounds like a goof ball."

"He _is._ Not too long ago, he went and put graffiti all over the great stone faces! Man, his sensai was pissed."

"He had to be pretty brave to go up there though..." She glanced back, trying to imagine someone at that height in the air with a spray can, or anything. "I don't like high places..."

"You better get used to them. Kurenai says I can have ya when she's done with you. Me and Akamaru are gonna give ya hell!"

Fury whimpered slightly. Still, she had to wonder, how bad could it be? Training couldn't be life threatening...

Could it?

* * *

Fury had been right about Loor.

She had run. Angry with Kurenai for sending a guard after them, she had just skipped out while Fury was busy talking with Scruffy. She didn't care if she had some sort of homicidal manic after her, she didn't need a freaking bodyguard! What, was Orochimaru the devil in disguise or something? This stupid village had to have some security!

So where had Loor run to? Nowhere. She was confused, angry, and was suddenly realizing how few answers there were compared to her questions. No one had ever told her how they had gotten here in the first place, or where _here_ was for that matter! Why the hell did Orochimaru want her and Fury dead? Just surviving him? That didn't make any sense! Why were they on limited time? What had happened at home, and what had Kurenai done to mask Fury and Loor's absence? At first, she wanted to find Kurenai and milk her for answers, but an even better idea came into her brain soon after.

Where was Sarutobi?

He was Hokage, and she would bet that you had to be smart _and_ strong to live as long as he did in the position he had.

The problem was that she had no idea where to find the dude. Did the Hokage have a particular residence, like the White House to the president? Or did he spend time out in the woods when he wasn't dealing with whatever he had to deal with?

Not long after this pondering hit her, she figured out one thing.

She was lost. Thoroughly lost. Slow down? Hehe, no, she moved faster, growing frantic as every street looked the same as the one before it. Loor knew this feeling, of loosing her grip on everything. She knew that there was only one cure she had ever known for it, and that cure was no longer available.

That cure... was talking to her mother. Whenever Loor was overwhelmed, confused, or just downright scared... her mom had always been there for her... _always._ And now...

Loor snapped at her own thoughts. She refused to cry! That damned Oro-bastard was probably watching right then, laughing at her outburst of emotion, the fact that she was so used to such a soft life! She skidded to a stop, glancing about, but there was no one around her. The village was slowing down, people going back to their homes, as the sun began to set. She tripped into the middle of the street, turning slowly, feeling all too frantic... where?

"Come out, damn it!" She bellowed, falling on her ass. She couldn't help it... she felt like she was being watched.

Or maybe she was just being paranoid...

"Who are you talking to?"

Loor turned quickly, eyeing the person who was now strolling down the road towards her.

"Ka... Kabuto..." She muttered, forcing herself up. She refused to show weakness in front of a male. "How did it go with your previous engagement?"

"Just fine." He said easily, giving a slight smile. "I'm sorry about bailing on you two like that... I know it's no way to treat a couple of ladies, but I didn't want my friends to get angry."

Loor glared at him, snorting.

"What?"

"I'm not a lady, bub." She snipped, going to walk past him. "Tomboy. Fury may be on her way of bein' a lady, but there ain't no way you're sweet talking me like that without me setting you straight."

"Sweet talking?" He asked with a defensive chuckle. "I was just trying to apologize, and if it's not too much... I thought I could give you some help in your training. You're obviously bad with chakra, and that happens to be my strong point."

Loor stopped, turning to look at him directly, as if her eyes could drill it into his head that this was not the best day to be making offers. She was stressed out and just a little off of her rocker. "Apology accepted, and if you'll excuse me, I don't need any help from some silver haired Harry Potter wannabe."

As she said that, she went to walk again. Five seconds later, Kabuto was in front of her, walking backwards, having dashed to that point. She hid her automatic flinch and kept moving.

"But Fury told me all about it, how you want to get powerful quickly. I could help you."

She growled. "Get it through your skull, I help others! No one helps me." She pushed him. "And that's the way I like it, so I'll be on my way."

He didn't quit, pushing her back. "Why don't you like me? The second you saw me, you looked angry."

"You were holding my sister's hand! I'm a little protective if you don't mind! Not to mention I'd know that face anywhere!"

Kabuto froze. He feared he had been found out. But this girl couldn't be that good... could she? "Really?"

"You bullshit as much as I do, if not more. Oh sure, you may be on a bit higher level, but I know an actor and a liar when I see one! By your face, I'd say you've screwed over more people than your average porn star." She gave a few seconds to let that sink in, and then smirked. "And you probably knew it the second you saw my face. We can always sight our own kind."

He relaxed, snickering. "I didn't know you'd get it so quickly."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." She waved him off, starting to walk again. "Now then... if you excuse me... I'm gonna find Lee. It's been a long ass day."

Kabuto nodded, not following, and smirking as she left. _This isn't over, Loor... not by a long shot._


	10. Hop And Shove

Yep, new chapter. I know, I lied. I said I'd see you next weekend, but I finished chapter ten and wanted to upload it before I hit major story line stuff. Hehe…. –grins- Yeah…. There's gonna be some fun stuff coming up that I'm not talking about. MUAHAHAHAH!!

**No Ownage.**

OWTF!!!

**Markings- Chapter Ten  
****Hop And Shove**

It wasn't very long after Loor left Kabuto behind in the search for Lee that _Lee_ found _her._ She had just been taking the long way back to the great stone faces when the green spandex wearing male dropped down into the street in front of her.

She was getting used to people doing that. It seemed that most nin would resort to rooftops rather than streets.

"There you are." Loor sighed. "I was looking for you."

Lee stood up in the road in front of her, having been crouched over slightly in landing. She knew that rule, to have soft knees when you jump or fall from a distance. You bend your legs to adsorb shock. The thing was that she'd usually go to her hands as well, where Lee had one arm tucked behind his back, the other contacting the ground, which actually looked kinda cool as he got up. He looked like he was ready for a fight, and then relaxed, nodding. "Then let us go." He gave, gesturing a hand ahead.

Loor nodded, quickly falling in line with him as he started walking. "Have you ever noticed that you speak without using any contractions?"

He gave her a questioning look. "Is there anything wrong with that?"

"No, just noticing..." She smirked. "So, when are we starting tomorrow?"

"Bright and early in the same place." He said this with enthusiasm, but she could see a slight dejectedness about his face.

"Something up?"

"I am feeling slightly... wrong; as a sensai. Gai sensai believes that I will lead you quickly onto the path of taijutsu, and yet we have hardly scratched the surface of basic ninja technique." He hefted a sigh. "I do not want to disappoint my sensai... and yet I feel as if I am doing nothing to help you after it has been stressed many times that your time in Konoha is short."

"Uh... Lee, may I remind you that your first task in teaching me was instructing me to do something you yourself cannot do? And what happened in the end? I got it. In all honesty, I'd say you're doing fine. Your sensai has presented you with a nearly impossible challenge." She snickered. "To teach something you don't know... the concept on it's own is almost insane. If I had never seen jutsu preformed before, I would have considered you off your rocker... and yet you tried, and in the end, successful in your attempts. If there's anyone who's behind on this, its me."

He looked at her with slight questioning in his eyes. He almost looked confused at what she had said. Maybe the kid wasn't used to getting encouraged by anyone but his sensai. Still, he smiled, and nodded. "Yes, not to say that you are hopeless."

"I know." She snickered. "I just have to push harder... like I do at home."

There was a long pause, and they both kept walking, the light slowly fading, their shadows growing long in front of them. Loor didn't really like silence that much, and decided to open up the airways again.

"So... are your parents around?"

"No."

_Thought so._ Loor nodded, not prodding. Loor wasn't surprised about Lee's parents not being around, seeing as Gai was as good as a father figure. It was probably why Lee emulated him so much. It wouldn't faze her to find that Gai was the first, and maybe even only, person to believe in Lee's nindo. Loor already had the rest of Lee's image in her head. She was sure that he was an outcast in school, and worked his hardest to keep up just because he was different. Gai sensai probably all but fostered him. Loor doubted that Lee had been all that talented at taijutsu when he started, maybe explaining why he was so enthusiastic about all of his training now.

In other words... he was a lot like her when it came to school life. Loor wouldn't be surprised if he had done nighttime training, like her, probably explaining that look he had given her before. They were both always trying to prove themselves... in everything, just because they were different. The main difference between she and he? She had a family to fall back on all the time, while he... he had no one, which probably pushed him harder than anything in the world.

"Hey... Lee?"

He glanced back, seeing as she had fallen slightly behind, thinking.

"I'm sorry I snapped at you before... about the people I had lost. I'm just used to having my guard up all the time... not to show weakness." She sighed, lowering her head. "I mean... I've been a little stressed out and all... Yesterday I woke up in a hospital bed with no idea where I was, and all of the sudden I'm doing all of this..." She gestured around. "It's a little scary, and I don't usually talk to new friends about my problems. Heck, I usually don't tell anyone."

"You consider me a friend?" Lee asked.

"You're not an enemy, or else I would have tried to kill you by now." She shrugged. "According to me, if you're not an enemy, you're going to be a friend sooner or later. Trust me, when I don't like someone, they know about it pretty damn quick." She then giggled, giving him a slight smile. "Not to mention... you're kinda cute."

This was mainly something to lighten the mood, and it did cause Lee to give a small chuckle. "I had a question for you." He said. "Is Fury actually your sister? You two look nothing alike."

"You noticed, huh?" She leaned her head back, looking up at the clear sky, which was starting to show stars. "No, we're not. We met just at the beginning of this year, honestly. I can't say we clicked... at first; I was a little mean to her. Okay, maybe more than a little. Still, the relationship smoothed out after a while, and then we got so close that we just started calling each other sisters. She's always been an only child, so it's as close as she'll ever get."

"What about you? Are you an only?"

"Youngest of three." She paused. She wanted to add, _Well, I was._ But she didn't. In all honesty, she was an only now, wasn't she? She tried to ignore the depressing thought. "And I'll assume you're all by yourself."

They had stopped walking, as they had arrived at Lee's home, which turned out to be an apartment of sorts. The door was one of many, and Lee extracted a key from behind his headband, unlocking the door and holding it open for her. Usually, a boy would have gotten a glare from her for such behavior, but she reminded herself that Lee was okay. He was just being nice. "You would be right." He answered as she went past into the dark area beyond.

A second later, Lee flipped the light on, showing the area inside to be rather simple. The main area was a kitchen and a table with two chairs, a little bit of open space, and two doors, one for a bedroom and one for a bathroom.

"I will sleep on the floor." He said, shutting the door and putting his keys away.

"No need." She answered. "You don't have to worry about it, I'm fine on the floor."

"But—"

Loor gave him a look, smirking. "You know, when they said 'chivalry was dead' they never met you, did they?"

"Probably not..."

"Just give me a pillow and a blanket and I'll be fine." She giggled, taking off her shoes. "It's pretty warm in here anyway."

Lee looked as if he wanted to argue with her, but took his own shoes off nodding. "I will be right back."

"Thanks."

"Do not mention it." He replied, going through one of the doors to his room, coming back with the bedding she requested by the time she was in the middle of the kitchen, checking to make sure the place was as simple as it seemed. She thanked him again, setting herself up on the floor. At the same time, he had gone into his room, leaving the door open in case she wanted to talk, pushing his sleeves back and unwrapping white tape that had been on his hands and arms, probably to protect him from cuts.

Loor watched with slight interest. The wraps covered his arms up to the elbows. Everything under them would be slight bruises and lean muscle.

"How the hell do you take that thing off?" She finally questioned. "I don't see any zippers or anything..."

He glanced up, having finally gotten his other hand completely loose and putting the two separate wraps in neat little rolls. "Huh?" He asked, not quite sure what she was talking about, moving on to his leg warmers and his weights.

"The jumpsuit." She nodded her head at what he was wearing. "I don't see any zippers or snaps..."

"It stretches." He said simply. "One size fits all. Gai sensai and I wear the same thing."

"Whoa..." She giggled lightly as he got up, taking off his headband. "You wonder if it ever gets too tight or anything..."

"No." Lee had gone out of her sight now, somewhere else in his room, probably taking the suit off and getting into something to sleep in. "It is very breathable... sometimes feels like you are not wearing anything."

He came back out of his room in blue night pants, shirtless, a slight smile on his face.

Loor looked down. God, that kid was like... zero body fat. Perfect washboard abs and everything. He probably had a tight ass too...

She shook her head slightly, snorting at the passing though with a minor lecture to herself, looking back up to Lee to find him looking confused as to why she had just randomly had an argument with herself. "Hehe... sorry about that..."

He didn't comment. He just shrugged slightly, heading toward the bathroom. She sighed, leaning back and feeling her head hit the pillow, the blanket between her and the floor. She didn't need another one since it was plenty warm in the room.

Well, this was certainly different from staying with Hinata. She was part of a bigwig family, and lived in one of those Japanese places that you always hear about. You know, where the whole family, and the whole extended family, lives in the same area that is practically a whole little village on it's own? Yeah, well, her dad was the leader of their clan. Big name to live up to, but she was still trying.

She couldn't remember the last name though... started with an H...

Oh well. She just hoped she wouldn't be changing residence again, because she didn't like moving around a whole lot. Among the two times she had woken up in this place, there was a hospital, and then there was a really nice bed with a really bad wake up call, and above all, she was going to rather waking up on the floor. She didn't like hospitals, and Loor wasn't going to talk about why she didn't like her experience at Hinata's place.

Rolling to her side, she could hear the sound of a pump working and running water in the bathroom. Lee was taking a shower, apparently. In rolling, Loor felt a sharp pain from her back that reminded her that she hadn't been stretching her back properly since she had left the hospital. Of course, she got up to do what she needed to. Her back was issue prone or something. Years ago, she had landed directly on her tail bone while falling off of something, and had issues with back pain for weeks, and just about a month ago the right flank muscle had started to seize up if she didn't keep it properly stretched. Now, on top of everything, the Oro-bastard had to knock her off of her own deck, making her land first and foremost on her back, making stretching hard.

Not having her jacket, having left it where they had been training that day, also brought all the other cuts on her arms to attention. Some of them may have formed on impact when she was thrown, but as she attempted to touch her toes she focused on the large muscle shared by her shoulder and upper arm... those cuts didn't look like random scratches. They looked like...

Finger nails.

Her mind flashed on it for a second, the Oro-bastard's iron grip as she had screamed for her brother and sister to stay away. Why hadn't she felt it then?

Fear.

_Oh yeah..._

Loor tried not to listen to her mind as she finished her stretches and relaxed again, quickly falling into dreamland. She _did_ have a long day.

She didn't notice when Lee came by, putting an extra blanket over her.

* * *

"Hey, Hinata, is the world ending?"

This was a sarcastic question from Kurenai to her student. Of course, Hinata didn't register the sarcasm and quickly looked around, minorly frantic. "W-what?"

"Kiba's on time..."

Hinata glanced up to see said boy, and his dog, and Fury, walking up the path to the training grounds. It was true, he was on time. Such was pretty much unheard of. It was actually rare enough that it caught Shino's attention, making him look up and over at the dog boy as he got to the group.

Fury was all smiles. "Good morning!" She greeted.

Kiba was a little more... sulky. "Whatever..."

Kurenai walked over to Kiba, pushing his headband up slightly to feel his forehead. "Are you feeling okay?"

Kiba jerked away. "What the hell??"

"You're on time, Kiba. You're never on time."

Fury snickered as Kiba looked pissed again. "If ya wanna know, ask Fury and Hana."

Hana would be Kiba's elder sister that Fury had become rather acquainted with. The two girls actually hit it off.

Shino walked up now, Hinata close behind. After a few moments, Shino looked down and observed the following; "Your toe nails are pink."

Fury started laughing her ass off, and Kiba glared. "I know, bug-boy." He growled. Akamaru seemed to find it just as funny as Fury, yipping and jumping out of Kiba's hood. "Like I said, talk to Fury and my freaking sister."

Shino slowly turned his gaze to Fury, his face overcoming the high collar of his coat to give a slight smile. Hinata took a few more seconds to get it, and then gave a light giggle. It was very short though, and she instantly hid behind her headband again.

Kurenai rolled her eyes slightly, smirking. "Well, I'm glad they found a wake up call that works." She said stretching. "As for you two, Kiba, you'll be helping Fury along in learning the dash technique. Once she's got it, you can start in on agility training." She then turned to her two other students. "Shino, Hinata, we got a D rank that only needs two people that we'll be handling this morning. Another baby-sitting job."

Hinata gave a smile. She liked kids. Shino remained, as he usually was, indifferent.

Kiba had suddenly started smirking though, casting an easy arm around Fury's shoulders. "You're gonna regret that little stunt this morning." He gave, turning towards the woods and starting to walk, bringing her along. There was no apparent path, which meant bushwhacking. "You're not gonna want to move for a couple of days when me and Akamaru are done."

Akamaru, who had come trotting along with them, seemed to give a puppy-like chuckle. Obviously, the little dog had a human range of emotion.

Fury whimpered lightly, reaching into the pocket of her loose pants and feeling the fact that she still had the offending bottle of nail polish with her. It was a shade of bright pink that Kiba's sister Hana had given to her. 'To keep him in line later on' she had said. Hana had winked when she said that, as if she was suggesting something with the 'later on' comment, but Fury shrugged it off. It was probably just her being a big sister, teasing her little brother and his friends.

"I'll live." She finally said, bucking up.

Akamaru looked up at Fury and woofed twice.

"What did he say?" Fury asked slowly.

"He wishes you luck." Kiba smirked. "And said that you're gonna need it."

It took a quarter of an hour's worth of bushwhacking before Kiba and Fury made it to a clearing that would serve till Fury got a little more on her chakra, enough to dash. They started with a quick review of what she had already learned, focusing with the hand sign and moving things about. Like a warm up, they did that for a short while before Kiba commanded that she first let her charge go, take the sign away, and call up the same amount.

At first it was hard. Even if Fury didn't know what the sign meant, there was something about it that helped her channel her own energy. Still, she stood lax, trying to bring up this... energy. After a few tries and a little sweat, she had it like she had before, and then started to move it. Without the brace of the hand sign, this flame in her body wavered often, like a candle in the wind, but some how she managed to keep reigniting it every time it went out. After a while, it stopped going out. All the time, Kiba watched, gave tips, and asked questions on how it felt and if there was anything abnormal going on.

It took about an hour before Kiba decided she was ready to start learning the technique.

"Dashing is very simple." Kiba said, smirking. Akamaru had gone into the woods to relive himself, so it was just them. "You bring up an amount of chakra into your chest. The amount you want depends on how far you want to go. More chakra, more distance and more speed. We don't want to waste yours, so I'll only have you dash a little ways at first.."

Fury nodded, giving an eager smile. Without the sign, she could feel the small embers warm in her chest. Just enough, she guessed. "Alright... what's next?"

"Next, you move it in whichever direction you're planning to go." He planted his feet, as if to show her somehow. She could almost sense his slight usage. A moment later, he hopped slightly into the air, and seemed to disappear and appear five feet to the left. "You press is against your skin, hop, and give it a violent shove. Your energy can't escape your own body, and simply propels you from one place to another quickly, being spent in the process."

Fury nodded slowly, still getting used to all the new sensations she was being exposed to. Pressing this energy against the bones of her rib cage... and then the skin, it felt very strange indeed... like electricity more than fire. Then, like Kiba said, she gave a short hop, and shoved it.

"Holy shit!!" She yelped, having moved only about three feet, but that feeling was weird enough. She had been too shocked to land properly, falling to her knees and then her hands, panting and clutching where she had pressed herself. "That... was... weird!"

"You'll get used to it." Kiba said, coming over and offering her a hand up as Akamaru came back.

She nodded in thanks, taking his hand and getting herself correct on her own feet. It took a moment, seeing as she was still shaking from how odd that felt. This was beyond incredible. She had just accomplished something she knew no one else at home could do...

Was this how Loor felt all the time?

Kiba stood straight, grinning again. "Right, I think we're ready to move on."

"Move on?!" Fury yelped. "Are you kidding?? I just tried it for the first time and ate turf!"

"You'll get it faster if I put you through a proper exercise." Kiba assured, leaning down for his dog. "Right Akamaru?"

Akamaru, crawling into Kiba's hood, barked a short agreement.

Fury sighed. It looked like she wasn't going to have a choice in this. "Alright then... what's the exercise?"

"Me and Akamaru will go into the woods in that direction," Kiba pointed. "I'll leave Akamaru somewhere out there, and then continue straight out for a while. Your goal will be to get to me and get back here while making sure that Akamaru doesn't catch you."

"How will I know when to start?" Fury inquired.

"Count to a hundred." Kiba said dismissively, already turned to go into the woods.

Fury sighed, sitting down and bowing her head to start counting.

This was gonna be a long day.


	11. That's My Nindo

Number one of this week's two-chapter update. Yeah, sorry I couldn't do more than that, but I have school too! As all of you do, I am sure. Even worse for you guys, I might be getting a German exchange student to come to my home, which means that I will have but two hours a night for writing, and hardly a chapter a week if I'm lucky. Oh well. You'll all live, seeing as there aren't many of you.

**No ownage.**

OWTF!!

**Markings- Chapter Eleven  
****That's My Nindo**

Lee woke up before the sun had made it over the horizon, part of his usual routine in the morning. He changed out of his night pants, pulled on his suit, wrapped his arms, got his leg weights, pulled on the leg warmers, and tied on his headband. Somewhere in this process, he would find a hair brush and straighten out his short bull cut, checking in the mirror that was in his room with a trade mark smile (always sparkling white) and a thumbs up. On a usual day, he would eat something and get on his way to the usual training grounds. If his team didn't have training that day, he would practice on his own, and usually Gai sensai showed up anyway.

Today wasn't quite usual. The first thing on his mind was, of course, his charge. He opened his own door slowly, looking to where Loor had sacked out the night before.

The extra blanket he had put over her looked to have been thrown off, the pillow aside, and the girl gone. Slight panic went through him, the thoughts of the 'powerful man' that Loor had spoke of the day before shooting into his mind. Had she been taken in the middle of the night? Right under his nose? The man would have to be a ninja then, and very powerful indeed.

But what ninja would kidnap a hardheaded non ninja girl? Lee tried not to think of it, quickly coming out of his room and checking the obvious places, such as the bathroom, which was open and empty, and by the door, where her shoes were gone. His were left neatly where they were, and it didn't look like there had been a struggle.

Had she run in the middle of the night then? Odd.

If there was no struggle, she had left on her own, so he tried not to worry. Instead, his mind went to puzzling out where she would run to. Simply running away for the sake of it didn't fit with the image he had of her so far...

What made more sense would be her leaving to get back to work.

Lee gave a slight smirk. She was determined, he'd give her that. He didn't bother with eating, quickly leaving his home after grabbing his keys and tucking them behind his headband. Of course he took the roof tops, keeping out of the way of commoners traffic, even if it was long before most people got up. The food businesses were getting started for the day ahead, but aside from that, Konoha was sleeping.

He liked Konoha at this time... it was very calm.

Dashing most of the way, the woods were not a far off destination, nor was the clearing that he and Loor had used before. Out there, as he expected, he found his charge.

Loor looked like she had stayed up far later than she should have. She was laying on the ground, using the sweater she had left out there before as a pad under her head, covered in sweat and panting. She didn't really notice Lee coming into the clearing, just trying to master her breath enough to even it.

"You could hurt your self like that." Lee commented. "Chakra extortion can sometimes be deadly."

She sat up quickly, opening her eyes and yelping. Once she realized who it was, she pushed herself to her feet. "Lee..." She smiled. "Sorry... if I made you worry..."

"Rest is part of training, Loor." He replied shortly. "What if that man had come out here with you like this?"

"He would have killed me, no questions asked." She answered, cracking her neck. "But... I caught up with Fury."

He cocked his head to the side, as if he didn't understand. He hadn't heard about Fury's progress.

"I can do it without the hand sign." Loor gave a grin, even though it was a very worn out one. "All by myself... because I didn't quit."

"You are going to hurt your self." Lee restated his previous comment. This girl was almost as bad as him, if not worse. At least he knew when to stop.

"Not even a congratulations?" She snorted. "Some teacher you are."

"Good job, now we are going back so you can get some rest before I take you to the hospital."

"It doesn't matter if you do." She glared at him now, growling. "I don't care where you take me, or what you try to make me do..."

"If you do not sleep, you will not recover the chakra you have already spent, and thus will not be able to train any further without damaging your body and the very network that chakra uses."

Loor panted heavily, taking a step forward, as if to attack him. "I... don't think you get it, do you? I figured it out Lee..." She was hunched, slight spittle at the corner of her mouth as she spoke. "This whole thing... all this training... it's not for me. That man... that Oro-bastard... he took away everyone I ever loved... all but one." Snorting, she spat, taking another step. "I don't care if I die... all that matters now... is protecting the one person left that I love... that's..." She pushed herself to stand straight, the look on her face saying it hurt. "That's all that matters... that's my nindo."

She made an attempt to dash up and attack him, but had no energy left to do it and tripped. Lee quickly rushed up, catching her under the arms and lifting her. After a few seconds, he noticed that she had passed out.

Protecting the ones she loved... that was her nindo? Her reason for becoming powerful. Lee could certainly respect that, but she was hurting herself like this.

"She's almost as pathetic as you are."

Lee turned his head slightly, picking Loor up to shift her to a fireman carry. "Good morning Neji." Lee greeted coldly, seeing the boy behind him.

Neji's white eyes seemed to flash with a small sparkle of laughter. "Ironic that fate would twist in such a way to bring two hopeless people together, both fighting the inevitable flow of destiny."

"She is hardly hopeless." Lee turned quickly, facing a potential opponent head on. "Nor am I!"

"A shinobi without ninjutsu or genjutsu, and a feeble little girl, trying to learn far too late in her life from someone who isn't even capable." Neji came out of the brush, into the clearing. "If that isn't hopeless, I don't know what is."

Lee gritted his teeth, fighting the urge to put Loor down and attack Neji. "You will see someday, we will both beat you to prove you and your 'destiny' wrong!"

"Impossible." Neji was becoming smug now, seeing Lee's slight expression of anger. "I beat you aside all too often. You were doomed to failure as soon as you picked a path that was never yours... as did she, when she pushed off of the path meant for her."

"You have never even seen any extent of her potential, the progress she has already made." Lee took an aggressive step forward. "You have no idea of the path behind her or the one in front of her."

"I have seen enough. You both should quit."

Lee held himself back as Neji turned back into the woods, walking slowly, arrogantly. That walk dared Lee to attack, but he didn't. Instead, he sighed, opting for the tree tops to take Loor back home, but grabbing her sweater first, which he had nearly forgotten as it had been forgotten the day before.

He put Loor in his bed, not leaving the apartment. Gai sensai would understand.

* * *

Fury was huffing, coming back to the clearing for what had be to the tenth time that day, nursing one leg. It was the tenth time she had gotten caught, and getting caught meant that Akamaru would lay his teeth into the first thing that he could reach. Not hard enough to make her bleed, but certainly enough to make her hurt. She had learned the hard way in this exercise that dashing would be her only way of getting away from the dog, but the dog always had a way of catching up. It was only on the last three times that she had even made it to Kiba before being pushed back.

She fell to her knees in the clearing, pulling up her pant leg, which was slightly ripped, and taking a look at the red teeth marks. She was tired from all the running, and could actually feel how little chakra she had left. Sitting there, she glanced up as Kiba dashed into the area, stopping right in front of her. Her gaze had to linger on the pink toenails, and she had to wonder if this exercise would have been any easier if she and Hana hadn't done that.

"Can we take a break...?" Fury asked slowly, getting her breath back.

Kiba glanced up at the noon sun. "Yeah, looks like a good time for lunch." He turned towards the woods. "Akamaru! C'mon!"

Seconds later, the dog burst through the brush, all sorts of happy and going up to Fury. Fury glared at the dog for a few moments, seeing as her leg wasn't the only part of her that hurt.

The second she glared, he started to whine, making with the big puppy eyes. It took her a few seconds, but she couldn't stay mad, picking him up and petting him again, giggling as she got puppy kisses. "Oh, you're just too cute..." She looked up at Kiba, who had a slight smirk going on, offering her a hand to get up. Nodding, she took it, Akamaru crawling into Kiba's hood so they could get on their way.

Fury took it, tripping to her feet. "Lemme guess... Ichiraku's?"

"You're familiar with the ramen shop?" Kiba snickered as they started walking.

"It's all me and Loor have eaten since we got here, besides what you've given me and whatever Hinata or Lee gave her." She shrugged. "It seems everyone around here loves the place."

"Can't argue with good food that's within a genin budget. I mean, we hardly get good fees off of those D rank missions. I think the best I've ever gotten was a thousand ryo for taking a food cart between here and Tanzuku and guarding it from a couple of measly bandits, which really puts it into the C ranks, but they didn't even tip!" He snorted. "I mean, sure, once you become a ninja you get a free roof over your head, but those apartments are tiny. They could afford to pay us a bit more."

"You get a free place to stay?" Fury asked. "But aren't most genin our age?"

"Yeah, so?" Kiba shrugged. "We have a lot of kids at our age living on their own, and younger. Once you're part of the ninja program, you get a free apartment in one of the buildings that are around Konoha. I've been meaning to move out of my own place, but I can't cook anything but dog food, and that's for Akamaru." He snickered, scratching his dog. "I'd blow it up."

"So, what's the youngest age to go into the ninja program?"

"If you can walk, you can join."

"So you mean a five year old could be living in one of those apartments by themselves?" Fury asked, slightly startled.

"Sure, if they wanted to, though I'm sure most five year olds wouldn't want to be without their parents."

"Weird." Fury sighed, putting her hands behind her head.

Just then, Akamaru started whining. Kiba glanced at him, and then sighed. "You know, you could have mentioned that while we were still in the woods."

"What's up?" Fury asked, seeing as they had just left the trees behind.

"Akamaru has to go." Kiba sighed. "We'll be right back. Stay here."

"Not allowed to crap in the street?" Fury raised an eyebrow.

"Keeps him from crapping in my room." Kiba snorted, turning back to walk back into the trees, the dog jumping out of his hood. Fury stood there for a few moments, and then sat down. They were still in the grass areas, not yet to the streets and such in the main parts of Konoha. It was nice, the grass thick enough to feel like a soft mat.

She relaxed, stretching out the parts of her that still hurt from Akamaru biting her, and had to wonder what Loor was doing right now. She doubted that her older sister would even think of taking a break, and was probably past learning the dash technique by now.

"Hey Fury!"

Glancing up, Fury couldn't help her sudden smile as she waved at the boy who was walking up to her. "Hi Kabuto."

"Heading for lunch?" He asked, returning the smile.

She nodded. "Yeah, with Kiba. He's gonna be back soon."

"Oh." Kabuto lowered his gaze, the smile faltering. "I was hoping to make up for bailing yesterday, but if you're already going with someone else--"

Fury felt herself turn crimson. "Uh, n-no! Kiba's gonna be training me for a while, we'll have plenty of opportunities for lunch... I mean, I don't know where to find you or when you're free, so..." She sighed, lowering her head. If she bailed on Kiba, she'd feel bad, but Kabuto was trying to make up for bailing on her, which made her feel even worse! It was a no-win situation.

"Hey Fury, he giving you trouble?"

Fury turned her head to see Kiba walking up again. "No, not at all!" She gave, quickly getting up and wincing at her leg. "He was just trying to make up for bailing on me yesterday!"

"Oh..." Kiba muttered, meeting Kabuto's eyes. Fury wouldn't read into it much, but Kiba looked just a little protective of her. Akamaru, on Kiba's shoulder, half in and half out of his hood, looked like he was ready to bite the silver-haired teen.

"I can always do it another day." Kabuto assured. "I don't want to get in the way of plans."

"No, it's okay." Kiba snorted. "Just bring her back, alright?"

Fury whimpered. Kiba seemed angry. "A-a-are you sure...?"

"Sure." Kiba gave shortly, turning around. "I'll meet you out there... I'm gonna go home and grab something."

Kabuto looked after Kiba for a few moments. "Wow... I would hate to cause trouble between you two..."

Fury sighed. She hated it when stuff liked this happened. "It's fine, let's go."

He nodded, turning down the small path towards the center of the village. "So, how is training going?"

"Pretty well... I haven't completed my first exercise yet..."

"You'll get it, I'm sure. What about dashing, you got that yet?"

She nodded, happy that she had accomplished something. "Yeah, that was this morning. Wha'd you do today?" She asked the question quickly. She really didn't want to talk about training at the moment.

"My sensai is teaching me a new jutsu specially. He thinks it'll help me with the chunnin exams when they come around." He gave a rueful smile. "Sometimes, I feel like I'm dragging my team mates down... every time I fail, they get set back too."

"Must suck, feeling like you're pressured all the time, huh?" Fury sighed. She knew that feeling in spades currently. How many times had it been strained that her and Loor didn't have much time? And Loor would give her a little bit of hell if she didn't get any stronger.

"A little, but I know I can do it. It pushes me harder." He smiled at her. "On the other hand, maybe it's better to take your time. If you don't, you can't do an efficient job."

"True, but me and my sister don't have time."

"Maybe, after you do what you have to do at home, you could come back and follow the ninja way." He suggested. "I mean... why was it you two had to train up before going home anyway?"

Fury looked up at Kabuto, a little confused at how quickly he would switch subjects. She remembered Loor's warning, of having to be apprehensive, but he suddenly felt more trustworthy than he had felt the day before. She wondered if it was just getting accustomed to a new place, or if... what if he was like Loor? The way she deceived?

"Oh, I'm sorry." He said in her silence. "If you don't want to say, it's alright."

"No... it's cool. It's just that Loor doesn't like you very much..."

"I noticed."

She chuckled lightly. "Well, the real truth is we might have some sort of powerful mad man after us... and Loor suspects everyone since there was another guy with him, and we don't know who it is... thing is, this guy is known not to leave people alive, so we're getting training in case the guy comes back to finish the job."

"So you can beat him?" Kabuto asked, seeming surprised. "That's strange."

"No... so we can survive, though I know that won't be good enough for Loor." Fury stuffed her hands into her pockets, seeming miffed. "She'll keep working at it once we get home. She wants to kill the guy, badly."

Kabuto was silent for a long time as they walked. Not far from the ramen bar, he spoke up again. "You know, maybe you two shouldn't go back home then."

"Huh?"

"Just guessing here, but if this guy is after you... wouldn't you be leading the danger to your own doorstep by going back? Konoha has various defenses, not to mention the ABUN black ops. for particularly powerful criminals. Not only would you two be protected, you wouldn't be putting your home village at risk, or your families."

Oddly enough, that made a lot of sense. Fury thought about it for a while, the concept of not leaving. It was interesting, even if she would miss her family quite a bit. She was used to always having her mother around... but it would be a great opportunity to become strong, not to mention Loor would love becoming a ninja and doing her best to be top dog.

The thought went through her mind throughout lunch, eating with Kabuto, and walking back to get back to training with Kiba.

The more she thought about it, the better it sounded.


	12. Getting Back To It

And number two outta two! Enjoy ya'll! Fury-chan says hi, and I say leave a freaking review at the doorstep!! Not really, but some feedback would be nice. I mean c'mon! All I've gotten so far is loved support from my dearest sister and a person I know on quizilla, and one stupid anon. flame that was deleted on sight after being laughed at. –grins- Oh well, let us move on then, shall we?

**No ownage.**

OWTF!!!

**Markings- Chapter Twelve  
****Getting Back To It**

When Loor woke up, her head, along with everything else, hurt like sin. Groaning lightly, she rolled onto her side, thrusting her head into the pillow it was on and clutching the blanket around her shoulders.

Five seconds later, her eyes came open in shock. When she did, she saw Lee staring at her, looking somewhat worried. At the moment, she was in his bed, and he had pulled up a chair to keep an eye on her. Her mind had a slight wondering about how she had gotten there, but she remembered blacking out while yelling at him.

Her eyes wandered the tidy room, shifting to sit up. There was a mirror near the door, a simple closet with a sliding door and exact copies of the suit that Lee was currently wearing, an end table by the bed, the chair that Lee was sitting in, a short dresser at the end of the bed, and the door into the rest of the apartment across the way. It looked as if Lee didn't spend a whole lot of time at home, just the essentials and nothing lying around.

"My head..." Loor muttered, putting a hand up to her brow. "What time is it...?"

"Just after noon."

"I've been asleep that long?" She yawned, and winced. She really didn't want to move, but forced herself to the edge of the bed, pushing the blanket off.

"It is hardly enough for how long you have been awake." He countered. "I do not think you realize just how dangerous it is to over strain your chakra network. It is like stressing a muscle beyond the ability it possesses. Long enough, after pain of course, it begins to rip and tear itself apart."

She snorted. "Thanks for the anatomy lesson. I'm sore everywhere, but I don't really care, so let's get back to it."

"We will." He assured. "But first, I have something for you from Gai sensai..."

"I bet he heard all about my little mid night outing."

"Yes, he did." Lee had reached under his chair for something, presenting Loor with a box that weighed, on a guesstimate, twenty pounds. It looked like a box that you'd get a sweater in on your tenth birthday from a relative who didn't know you hated getting clothes. "It did not surprise him though. In fact, he seemed to know you were a lot like me."

"Eh?" Loor questioned, putting the box aside for now.

"When I was younger... I would stay out late and push myself very hard. On the other hand, I never went as far as you did, simply because I can not kill myself by using up my inner energy like that."

"In other words, had you been capable of expending chakra, you would have pushed yourself to that point. Instead, you went to physical exhaustion." Loor smirked. "Which does make me a lot like you. Perhaps for different reasons, my night time training at home was much of the same." She changed her subject of attention. "So what's in the box?"

"You have to open it." He said dryly.

She rolled her eyes at him, working the top off of the package and then raising her trade-mark eyebrow at the objects inside. It looked like two rolls of horse tape and...

"Leg weights." Lee smiled. "Ten pounds each, and wraps for your legs so they do not slide."

"What's with this?" Loor asked, picking one of them up. In all honesty, the leg weights would go from just above and below the bending points of her lower leg. It would avoid getting in the way of motion and cover the rest, which would be where the horse tape came in, making it so it wouldn't bother her leg or slide around on it. Still, that would not be her main point of examination. The weight itself was a long strip to be secured around one's leg by a system of straps, but the weight was held in several thin compartments. On Loor's weights, only one compartment, about the width of a quarter, was filled, the rest empty.

There were ten compartments per leg weight.

"For additional weight later on. You do not think Gai would give you a beginner's tool? As you get stronger, and you fortify your body, I will add weight to it."

"But Lee..." Loor was getting skeptical. "That's a max of a hundred pounds per leg... how can a person stand that?"

"You forget my weights." Lee reminded.

"Which are physically impossible!" Loor snapped, glaring. "How can your legs stand that strain? How can you jump off buildings without your shins breaking in half and your knees dislocating?"

"Gradual and constant training is part of it." He began on an explanation. "Also, with the way my chakra is, the amounts through my body can be completely controlled by how I train. From constantly wearing weights, training, practice, and sparring, that amount in my legs alone is beyond what most shinobi achieve through their entire lives. It fortifies the bones and muscle, like a natural armor of sorts, only on the inside." He snickered lightly. "Though, with the common nin and their mobile chakra, that is impossible. Yours, for example, will never develop the way mine has. Even if you trained exactly like I did, you would never be able to wear weights that heavy, or your bones would break."

Loor had been listening, wrapping her legs whilst thinking about it. She guessed she would have to take Lee's word for it, because she had no physical evidence to go off of, besides the fact that his legs weren't broken and he obviously wasn't the deceiving type. "So you think I'll live at the max weight for these?" She asked, finishing wrapping her left leg and putting one weight on, pulling her pant leg over it. It was impossible for others to notice, but she would be thinking about it all day.

"I am not sure. Gai thinks you will be able to handle it."

She nodded, wrapping her other leg and suiting it with the other weight. "Alrighty... What's next?"

"You need to eat something." He said quickly, getting up.

"Food... right... I'd almost forgot."

"Not a great thing to forget." He gave as she got up off of the bed and shifted slightly. Obviously, the tape and the weights felt odd. "Unfortunately... I am not much of a cook for others."

Loor smirked. "Heh, you know that one place... Itchy-rock's or something like that?"

"Ichiraku's." Lee corrected. "And yes, though I do not go there often."

"Well, unless you want to cook, it's the only place in this village that I know."

* * *

Fury was not aware of how narrowly she had missed her sister as she left Ichiraku's, actually joking and laughing with Kabuto now. The guy turned out to be rather friendly, not to mention he actually laughed at Fury's jokes.

Fury didn't know that this playful interaction would be filed under flirting, simply because she was too young to be aware of such a thing. According to her, both herself and the male in the equation were being friendly.

On the other hand, Kiba, who was waiting for her, did notice. He couldn't help glaring at Kabuto, who gave an innocent shrug as he said good-bye to Fury and left.

Fury picked up on what seemed to be anger, and sighed. "I'm sorry."

"I'm not mad at you." Kiba snorted back, turning to go into the woods, leading the way back to the clearing they had been using, Kabuto only bringing her back to the main training grounds with the three vertical posts.

Fury quickly followed. "But you're mad." She pressed. "And I know it was something I did, so I'm sorry."

"You didn't do anything." He pushed back, glaring ahead as Akamaru eased himself out of Kiba's hood to Fury's arms, looking for a scratch between the ears. "I just don't like Kabuto is all."

She sighed slightly, having jump over various debris to keep up with him, stuff he just went past as if it was nothing. Akamaru whined, which made her positive that something was bothering Kiba beyond the distaste to a fellow male.

Wait a second...

Fury snorted at herself. That thought was a serious 'hopeless romantic' type thing, as Loor would put it, that Kiba was jealous of Kabuto. She pushed harder to keep up, noticing that Kiba continuously picked up the pace.

Soon he was jogging, and Fury had to put Akamaru down.

Moments later, the trio was running. Fury had to dash every now and then to keep Kiba in sight, ducking branches and hopping over stuff, refusing to lose him as he started dashing, pushing harder. She couldn't keep it up for long though, her legs starting to hurt.

Akamaru growled something at Kiba, moving faster to get even with him. Fury didn't speak dog, but guessed the basics of it was 'What the hell are you doing?!'

Kiba glanced back, as if he didn't know Fury was following, and laughed lightly. "I'm just reliving some stress. No biggy!"

Lucky bastard, he wasn't even winded.

"Would you... mind... slowing down?!"

Fury, whether he liked it or not, couldn't handle this yet.

Kiba skidded to a stop, actually jumping into the air and turning, landing like a four legged animal and digging his fingers into the dirt. Fury, not ready for him to do that and following too closely, tripped over him. She yelped, rolling a little bit as Kiba got up, turning.

"Oh, crap, sorry!" He yelped. "Are you okay?"

"It's fine..." Fury muttered, lifting her face away from the ground. "I was just getting to know the dirt."

He smirked, coming over and lifting her back to her feet. "Guess I should have just slowed to a stop, huh?"

"Ya think?" She asked sarcastically.

They both gave it a few more moments, and started laughing at their own behavior. It was just a little funny, how they were acting. After such, Kiba started to lead the way again, walking. Fury, before following, picked Akamaru up again. She couldn't help the fact that she liked holding him, and he didn't seem to take an issue with it.

They started walking again, and Fury hefted a long sigh. "So... Kiba, there's something bothering me."

"Hm?" The boy glanced at her, raising an eyebrow.

"Well... I get you with the dogs and such... and how shy Hinata is and all that, but what's up with that other guy? He creeps me out a little bit."

"Shino?" Kiba snickered. "Yeah, he's weird."

"What's with him? He hardly talks, and I've seen him just watching one point on a tree like it's the most interesting thing in the world."

"He was probably tracking a bug." He pointed out.

"A bug?" She questioned. "Why would he be tracking a bug?"

"Shino has another one of those blood traits, like Hinata's byakugan. Skills limited to the family, or the clan."

"Kinda like you and talking to dogs?" Fury questioned.

"Sorta, but that's more of the fact that my ma's dog practically played dad for me." Kiba shrugged. "Those blood line traits, or Kekkei Genkai, can give an extreme advantage in battle. Shino's is really strange if you ask me though... he's got a bunch of bugs living in his body."

Fury felt the muscle under her eye twitch. "Come again?"

"The Aburame clan, Shino's family, have bugs living in their bodies, providing one of those relationships where both the host and the bugs benefit. The bugs don't worry about environment, and Shino doesn't have to worry about sicknesses and such, not to mention they're great in battle, and he can talk to them. They're tiny little beetles. Imagine how useful that's gotta be on a spy mission."

"A symbiotic relationship." She summed up. "That's just... weird, and kinda gross."

"I'm pretty sure there are some more weird ones out there."

"True... so, does everyone have those things? The blood line traits?"

"Naw. I don't, and most others don't either. I think there are four or five big ones around Konoha village, and one of them is almost gone."

"Which one is that?"

"There's this one kid, Sasuke, who's the last of his clan, and so he's the only one left with the ability, right? It's called the sharingan, which is related to the byakugan, a lower form of it, really."

"Weird..." Fury didn't ask what the sharingan did, she'd probably learn later on. They had made it to their clearing, and both stopped walking. "So what happened to the rest of Sasuke's clan?"

"I donno..." Kiba shrugged. "No one talks about it, and I never ask. I've got my thoughts that it was real horror show, y'know? Like the family made some enemies who came in and killed everyone while Sasuke was outside of the compound or somethin'."

Sad... that Sasuke kid sounded like a prime target for Loor and her ways of reading people... she'd probably try to help him if she ever met the poor guy.

"Oh well." Fury snapped out of their current conversation. "Let's get back to it!"

"Right." Kiba grinned as she put Akamaru down. "Sit down and start counting, and we'll see if you can do this yet!"

* * *

"Kurenai, you took your time."

"Sorry, Asuma. I had to wait up for my team a little bit... But you said you had news about Kakashi. Did something happen to him?'

"No, not yet. Just turns out that the mission he took was a little more than he bargained for."

"... in what way? Last I checked they were just escorting a man from here to his homeland, the Land of Waves. A simple C rank mission for Kakashi and his team."

"It would be a simple C rank if they were just protecting that guy from bandits."

"What?"

"They had fully fledged shinobi at the chunnin or even jonnin level after them. The guy who requested the mission, Tama, lied so he wouldn't have to pay the fee for B or A rank protection."

"But... Kakashi can't be thinking of pressing on, can he? The second there was a threat, he should have come right back. With a team of genin, they would get themselves killed!"

"Heh... you would think that, huh? On the other hand, I've heard that Kakashi will be going on."

"Wait, how did you hear about this in the first place?"

"Well, you know how the Hokage keeps an eye on everyone... he was just checking in on Kakashi, and a battle happened to be going on. Sometimes, that crystal ball of his creeps me out... you think he could be watching you at all the worst times of the day."

"What, like on these little outings we have?"

"Among other things."

"Oh well... how's your team doing?"

"More like _what_ my team is doing, and to answer that question; nothing. Ino keeps trying to shove herself into leadership, Shikamaru won't listen, and Choji..."

"Just sits there munching, right?"

"Yeah. I hardly have enough time every other day to get them to stop bickering, much less train. I have the urge to recommend them from the chunnin exams when they come around just so they get a taste of the world they're aiming for."

"Asuma... that's a tad harsh. People die during those things..."

"I know. On the other hand, I doubt any one of them will give in that easy. Under pressure, all three of them can do what they need to."

"Maybe, during training, you should create pressure."

"Like what? Tell Ino to shut up and threaten to burn her hair off with a cigarette if she doesn't? Oh, wait, no, threatening Shikamaru and Choji to rigorous community service without lunches."

"Use your imagination."


	13. Sisters No More

Yeah, Yeah, I know. Early update. Yeah, one out of five. Let me write that again. One of **five.** I kid thee not... I had a long night last night, okay?

Let's just get on with this.

**I own nothing.**

OWTF!!

**Markings- Chapter Thirteen  
****Sisters No More**

Loor was hurting again.

After eating by herself, as Lee had gone to explain his absence this morning to his own sensai, herself and her teacher had gone straight to it. She was still getting used to her new weights, but wasn't going to wait around for that to pass. They returned to the clearing from before and Loor was quick to show off and be proud of the fact that she could manage her chakra without the hand sign. In return, Lee gave her one of those blazing smiles and a thumbs up, and the training moved along. It felt strange, learning how to dash from someone who couldn't even do it they way she was being instructed. She didn't blame how slow she learned it on that fact though.

That was her fault.

The feat that Fury had conquered mere seconds after having the concept explained to her, Loor took half of an hour. In the case that she finally did get it right, her expended energy actually moving her, she had forgotten to get off of the ground, and used too much energy. The result was her face's rude introduction to the dirt, and then the top of her head getting smashed into a close-by tree.

She laughed, but felt frustration that would quickly change over to anger if left alone for too long.

Working at the dash took very little of their day, simply because Loor assured Lee that she would perfect it on her own once she stopped eating turf. She wanted to move on to other things, things that she could actually use.

Grudgingly, Lee allowed it.

Loor couldn't help her smile as the fact was given that they were moving on. "So... you had a name for the fighting style? Taijutsu?"

Lee shook his head no, having helped her off of her ass for the umpteenth time that morning. She was already sweating from how much of her inner energy that she had used just trying to do dashing. In the back of his mind, he knew they should spend more time on it, and that they would probably come back to it, but dismissed it. He got a vague feeling that not very many people argued with Loor and came out on top. "Taijutsu is the first part of the ninja arsenal, and simply means hand to hand combat. How you fight is your own style."

"Right..." Loor nodded slowly, filing this information away. "And there's those other two..."

"Ninjutsu and Genjutsu." Lee reminded her. "You will learn more about those with Kakashi."

"Speaking of this Kakashi guy, when is he coming back?" Loor sighed. "Apparently he skipped town after bringing me and Fury here."

"He had a mission with his team." Lee shrugged, relaxing slightly. "Though it turns out they will be gone longer than they planned. Originally, it would seem that it was a simple C rank mission. As I have heard it though, it has become much more dangerous, and Kakashi has decided, with his team, to press on. They will naturally be gone for much longer, at least a month."

She stared at him for a few seconds. A month? She had a month to train herself up to the point she needed? Hardly enough time at all! And just how long were these people planning on keeping them from home? Fury was going to go crazy if she went a month without her mother. He seemed to notice how much it shocked her, and tried for a reassuring smile. She didn't see it, just trying to clear her head of this information like she would any other tid-bit, to ponder later on. "Well... uh..." She managed to stand straight and shrug it off. "We should get crackin' then!"

"Right." Lee nodded, coming out of being relaxed. "First, I would like to see what you can do. Gai has told me that you are strong for never being trained, but strength must be coupled with skill."

Loor raised an eyebrow at him. "You expect me to spar you? Buddy, you could probably kill me with one appendage, and I don't care which one it is. I know I have issues admitting defeat, but I know when hope is beyond hope."

He wasn't fazed by such words, well aware that she was probably itching for a fight anyway. "I plan to be holding back to see what you actually have."

Already slightly irked, the mention of holding back made Loor want to switch into being cocky, like she was with others at home when they said they'd 'hold back' to be nice to the girl in the equation. The instant reaction was hardly restrained, and she faced him, taking her stance. "You asked for it." She said, as if warning him.

Lee watched as Loor took her stance, legs far apart and knees bent, facing him head on, and her arms down. It was a strange and hunched over stance, and he could see that she was perfectly relaxed, ready to move in any direction. What had been a hell-bent look of being competitive sank down to an icy calm across her face, her eyes seeming to die to block out any hints to her thoughts on the fight.

Lee himself took his usual stance, feet together, one arm bent behind him, the other's elbow resting against the bottom of his rib cage, the forearm and hand out straight, inviting the other person to make the first move.

The still frame locked into Loor's mind as she felt a count down in the air, her heart telling her that this was going to be a lot harder than fighting Fury or trying to go up against Hinata.

Lee was going to make this last, sure enough, so he knew what he was working with. That didn't mean it wasn't going to hurt.

The silence between them, the cut off conversation, was broken by birds, giving their last notes before silencing as well. Like an action-starved crowd at a gladiators contest, the whole world seemed to go silent as two of able body faced off.

Lee moved first.

It was a fast action, almost beyond Loor's ability to see, as he went forward, ready to take a pot shot at her stomach. At his movement, she hopped back, pitching forward and catching the blow by the same sea-saw motion she had used on Hinata, her shin taking the hit. The force made her go back though, not around, and Loor had to think fast to right herself, getting one foot forced over her body, the other coming up and around as she was still correcting her balance. Coming around she was caught by his hand, yanking her aside and throwing her while twisting her body into a tight roll.

She landed on her sore side, the same spot she had landed on when thrown off of her own deck by Orochimaru. She didn't yelp though, rolling with it and getting her knees under herself, kicking off the ground, counting the long steps as she came at his stilled and calm figure.

She felt a slight rage as she saw he still had one hand behind his back.

One hand was going back, coming in for a punch that would land on his face. She saw his free hand shift, and opened her palm, turning slightly as she felt more than she looked for what he was doing.

With one hand, he would have deflected her fist. More likely than not, he would have also kicked her aside once she was off balance. But now that her hand was palm up, and open, she could grab the two fingers that he would have pushed her off with.

He hadn't been expecting that.

Taking his hand, she yanked down, pulling herself the last few feet that she needed to drive her knee up, hitting home at his rib cage.

Two seconds later, she found that his other hand had come loose, pinning her stomach against his shoulder as he stood straight again, tossing her over his back with the same ease that he had thrown her aside on the first bout. She didn't land so well on this one either, feeling the urge to stay down so she wouldn't have to take much of a beating. She ignored that urge though, going from her sore back to her feet again, feeling the slight ache from the weight on her legs that she wasn't used to. Coming to her feet, she was panting.

He stood with both hands at his sides, not even winded.

Glancing between herself and Lee, she tried to estimate the distance. Five, maybe seven feet, between them. Without thinking, she took her wide spread stance again, brining it up in her chest, that fire that told her she had her energy gathered, and the electric feel against her skin that said she was ready to push.

She knew it was way too much for five feet. She put that hard head of hers down, and pushed.

She became disoriented for a moment, but realized that she should have just smacked Lee in the chest with her own head, but hadn't. Instead, she had gone a lot further than intended, and had her head introduced to yet another tree.

Growling, head aching, she pushed herself back, and looked to see that Lee had made simple work of jumping over her when she dashed. She stared for a few moments, and then squared off once more, the signal that she wasn't done yet.

This was going to be a long spar.

* * *

Somewhere else in the woods, Fury hid against a tree, holding perfectly still, and keeping her labored breathing in check. Kiba was several yards behind her, and now she just had to make it back to the clearing... just make it back there, and she would win the exercise. It would be a sucky win rate; one try out of twenty-three, but at least it would be a win. Still, Akamaru was somewhere out there, still sniffing about. She had nearly gotten caught on her way to Kiba, but managed to get away from him. It had been close though; close enough to have her still shaking.

She waited, gaining her breath for a few more seconds, and then kicking off of the ground. She didn't dare hold still for long, because the dog would sniff her out. The faster she moved, the better off she was. On the other hand, she had to pace herself, or she'd never make it.

Ducking a branch, rolling, she spotted the dog near her, moving fast. God! Kiba couldn't have been more than a foot-ball-field's length away from the clearing, leaving her with a hundred yards between point A and point B. She had to be somewhere past twenty yards, and the dog was already on her ass. She tried not to watch him too closely, lest she run into a tree, or not watch him at all, opening herself up for a sneak attack.

Akamaru lunged at her from the side, and she jumped over an incoming branch, landing first on her hands and rolling back to her feet, dashing before she could think about losing her balance, getting an extra few lengths ahead, panting out of adrenaline, the fact that she was so close she could taste the grass in that clearing.

Akamaru made another leap at her, from behind, and she heard his little paws kick off, making her dig her heels in to jump backwards, going over the confused puppy, seeing as she had seemed to vanish. In that sense, she quickly moved beyond him, dashing another several feet, being able to see the light through the trees now.

Just a bit more...

Akamaru started barking at her now, and she knew that she wouldn't get off the hook so easily the next time he went for her. She wouldn't let him though. She looked at the straight run she had, and brought the warm embers in her chest up to a blazing furnace.

Fury let out a loud yelp when she jumped and pushed, landing on her rear in the clearing and sliding most of the way across it, stopping and landing hard on her back.

But the point was that she landed... and there wasn't a dog attached to her leg.

She just lay there, tasting victory and a little bit of blood in her mouth. Obviously, dashing with too much chakra wasn't good for you. Too much force, you'd break your own rib cage. Worse, Kiba explained that you could just put it to your feet for a running speed boost, but it you use too much for too long, you actually burn the skin like a fire would.

Laying there, panting, she opened her eyes to see Kiba standing over her like an angel silhouetted by the sun he was blocking out.

He had a slight smile in place. She had passed.

Akamaru walked up also, crawling onto her chest and licking her face, which caused Fury to finally get up, laughing even if it did hurt a little bit. She'd live. Petting the dog, she looked up at Kiba. "I... think we're done for today..." She panted.

Heh, and she used to think the mile run at school was hell.

"Yeah." Kiba agreed. "Good job, both of you." He sat down, scratching his pet with a smile. "You wanna go find out what the blondie is doin'?"

Fury nodded. She had been a little worried about her big sister for a while, seeing as she had just walked off the night before, all angry. Loor was prone to stupidity when she was pissed off. She got up, stumbling slightly, and following as Kiba got to his feet as well and led the way.

It was another clearing that they came upon that was occupied by Fury's sister and her current sensai, if you could call Lee that at his age. Fury knew which direction it was before they even got close, simply because Loor's voice was a hard one to mistake, as was Lee's.

Oddly enough, they were counting. Far off, Fury could hear them, and as they got closer, she could make out the numbers.

"142...! 143...! 144...!"

Kiba gave a puzzled look to Fury, who shrugged slightly. They continued, nearly upon the clearing.

"145...! 146...! 147...!"

It was at the edge of this clearing that Fury and Kiba saw what the hell was going on. Loor and Lee stood side by side, with their own tree centered in front of them, repeatedly picking up the same leg and kicking their own tree in sync. The numbers were how many times the tree had been kicked. It was obvious that these were meant to be forceful kicks too, to tire a person out quickly and then push them very hard. Loor was sweating, her jacket discarded on the ground, and her tree was missing bark where it had been kicked over and over again. Lee, on the other hand, was still looking fresh, and his tree looked more like he had been smacking it with a blunt ax. These effects were on both sides of the trees, a sign that this was their second time doing this, the first time being with the other leg.

"148...! 149...! 150...!!" Loor gave some extra 'oomph' to the last number, resting her hands on her knees, panting, not having noticed the entrance of her sister or Kiba. Her legs hurt like hell. Her and Lee had agreed on sets of 150, done 30 at a time, seeing as she couldn't handle it all straight like he could, and his first suggestion was 500, saying that was light.

Lee gave her a slight smile as she finished, and then glanced at the new arrivals, already aware of them. "Hello."

Loor glanced up at Lee, and then behind herself, standing straight as she saw Kiba, and putting on a strong face as she sighted Fury. "Hey Scruffy." She greeted with a smirk. "You ain't doin' nothing with my sister, are you?"

"_Onee-san!" _Fury gave, sounding a little offended. "Be nice."

Kiba rolled his eyes, taking his dog from Fury's arms and shrugging off the nickname. Loor walked up with a smile on her face, and the looked down at something on Kiba's person that caught her eyes. She stared for a few seconds.

"Your toe nails are pink?" She gave, as if asking a question, the eyebrow raise coming into play once more. _"Warum?"_ She asked with a German accent, thus the 'W' sounding like a 'V.'

"Varoom?" Kiba questioned the word he didn't know. "Fury, you understand that last one?"

"It's German." Fury giggled. "It means 'Why.'"

Kiba snorted. "Then 'Varoom' can't she just say it?"

Loor snickered at his bad usage of the language. _"Rosa ist heslicht." _

Rolling his eyes, Kiba attempted to ignore whatever Loor just said, looking over to Lee. "Hey, are you guys done for the day?"

Lee and Loor looked at each other with that question on their faces. After a few moments, an agreement was passed, and Lee nodded. "We'll pick it up again tomorrow."

"Yeah." Loor nodded, turning back. "Anyway, I have to catch up with my sister." With that, she stepped between Kiba and Fury, putting an arm over Fury's shoulders.

Lee stopped them before they left, giving Loor her coat before she forgot it, _again. _The girls left, leaving Kiba to go do something else if he wanted, and Lee probably to get back to his own training while there still was daylight. Fury had no complaints to bushwhacking their way back to Konoha, seeing as she had been doing that all day.

"So... what'd ya do?" Loor ask, raising an eyebrow.

"An agility exercise." Fury answered. "Basically, it was running so far and trying not to get caught by the dog."

Loor took this in with a slightly puzzled look on her face before smiling. "Sounds interesting. How many times did you get caught?"

"Twenty somethin'..." Fury almost whimpered these words, making Loor laugh, patting her on the back.

"Hey, it's not just a dog, remember? It's a ninja dog!"

Fury started laughing too, but it faded off to giggles. Loor made no move to talk about her day, so the walk became horribly silent. Just as they were nearing the village, Fury had made a decision. She needed to talk to Loor; now.

"H-h-hey... _Onee-san?"_ She asked nervously. The two girls stopped at the edge of the woods, turning to each other.

Loor could almost sense that there was something important on Fury's mind, and at once locked into 'listener' mode. "What?"

"Well... uh... I've been thinking a lot..." Fury had taken a reclusive posture, making a spitting image of Hinata in all honesty. All she needed to do now was poke her index fingers together. "Well, you know this Orochimaru guy is after us an all... and he's really dangerous, and all that stuff..." She trailed for a few seconds before she moved on to the bombshell.

"Maybe we shouldn't go back."

"What?"

Loor stared at Fury, nearly stricken dumb by this suggestion, going from 'listener' to 'debate,' standing straight and looking intimidating. "What?" Loor repeated, slightly gentler, seeing that Fury had nearly flinched.

"W-w-well, think of it this way!" Fury was doing her best to be strong. At home, she rolled over far too easily, and Loor knew her every weakness. "Orochimaru is just after us, right?!" Her voice was rife with being frantic. It would be the only way she would ever get her voice across. The other option would be the sheepish whisper she had started with, and at this point she would have been squeaking, hardly audible. "B-but if we go back, then that's like leading the wolf to your own door step! Loor, we if go back..." She took a deep breath, panting a little. "We risk all of them too... my family, our friends..."

Had Loor still be listening, this argument would have made complete and total sense. On a tip of irony, she was usually the one making logical suggestions in this duo, and now she was going to be fighting one. "Are you kiddin'?!" She yelped. "Fury, we have to go back to protect them!"

"We can protect them by not going to them!"

"So you'd leave your mother all alone, never knowing what happened to us, everyone from home believing we're dead, is that it?" Loor snorted. "It's 'cause of that Kiba kid, isn't it? I knew that kid was trouble!"

"No!" Fury snapped, becoming angry. Usually, when she was angry, she didn't show it, but she was already shouting. "You wanna go back because you wanna be a hero!"

There was a stricken silence between them. Fury took it and went on.

"We're safer here, Loor! And so are they, with us here and not going back. There's security here, and people looking out for us, and everything else!" Fury gestured about wildly, trying to make her point to Loor's current thickheaded mentality. "Going back is begging for that guy to attack us!"

"Good!" Loor snapped. "All the better then. Once this is over and we go back, because we _will,_ I want to find him as soon as I can and rip him limb from limb!"

"What, right when he's done with _my_ family?!"

"He's already done it with mine!!"

Loor punctuated this statement with a heavy stomp to the ground and a quick turn away from her little sister.

Fury stood, eyes wide. Did Loor just say that? Did Loor, protective and compassionate Loor, leader and logic Loor, just say that? That Fury's family could die as long as Loor got to kill Orochimaru?

Fury fell on her ass, watching Loor go. After a few seconds, she got to her feet again. "Fine! I don't need you either! I can take care of my _fucking_ self!!"

Fury watched as Loor didn't even look, raising the bird.

In all honesty, that's all they saw of each other for the next month.


	14. Team Seven

Two of five…. Moving along.

**No ownage.**

OWTF!!

**Markings- Chapter Fourteen  
****Team Seven**

To say it had been a long month would be an understatement. To one girl or the other, it had been one nerve-wracking experience, simply because of their nature. Fury felt bad for saying everything to Loor, but afraid to go to her sister and apologize in the cause that Loor decided she was still angry and socked her one. Loor, on the other hand, had torn herself apart emotionally because of one simple fact.

Loor didn't make new friends, she fell in love with people.

Not like the love between a boy and a girl, but family love. Any person that Loor became friends with was a brother or a sister, a son or a daughter, because just calling them her friend didn't sound quite right for how she felt about them. Fury, of course, was one of the people she loved the very most in this sense. And, after fighting with her, it took several hours for the depression to sink in, and a few days for Loor to identify it in the middle of the night, when she was out on her own again, having to actually sneak out of the window over Lee's bed because he locked the door to try and keep her from making night time runs. Once she did, she had spent more than a few hours, crying in something between emotional agony and rage, followed by the fact that she was far too proud to go to Fury and say she was sorry.

Far too proud. And stubborn.

And so training went on for the both of them, fueled by either by emotional rage, or the deep want to better oneself. Fury had stopped counting days, since it was all a blur of movement, muscle pain, sleeping, and being sore the next morning. No matter what, she hurt, and she almost never got a break besides when they ate. With Loor, she hardly even thought of the pain. Over three weeks, she had had a total of three pockets on her leg weights filled, amounting to thirty pounds on either one, and training with Lee during the day only led into her continuing by herself at night weather he liked it or not.

And all of that, every little bit, had led of to just one day a month after that fight. Just one day, when both girls had gotten news of Kakashi's safe return, and what they would be doing the next day.

The next day, they would face off for Kakashi to see what they had learned, and he would decide what to do with them from there.

* * *

Fury sighed slightly as she woke up to Akamaru licking her face, as she had for the past several days. She would usually push the dog off and giggle, but she just burrowed her head into the overstuffed pillow under her head, groaning. On this particular morning, she almost felt sick.

She was going to fight Loor.

Sure, she had gotten a lot better in the past month, but she was almost frightened with how far her sister probably got in the same amount of time.

Akamaru growled when she turned from him, climbing onto her back and giving a stiff nip to the back of her neck, and attempt to bring her to her senses.

Yelping, Fury sat up quickly, knocking the puppy back down the floor, though he took it well, just barking at her, getting that goofy grin and offering his head for a morning scratch that she supplied. As she did, she looked over at Kiba, who was yet to wake up.

Yeah, she slept in Kiba's room. The place was simple, if not a tad cramped. She didn't mind it. It was a comfortable cramped, with clothes randomly around on the floor among other things. Kiba actually slept on a pad of blankets, so technically on the floor, like Fury was. He had just set up a second pad for her, and got her a pillow that was, like everything else in the house, covered in dog hair.

This particular morning, Kiba was curled into an almost fetal position, the same position that Akamaru would sleep in. Only when Akamaru did it, he had a tail that he could curl to his nose. Kiba just looked really comfy under his blanket.

Fury, yawning, reached for her short-sleeved shirt and yanked it on after taking off the coat that she stole from Kiba almost every night. She couldn't help the fact that it was so warm and fuzzy, and that he left it an easily thefted position; on the floor, with everything else. Once she had her shirt on, since she slept in her pants, she was dressed, and leaned out of her bed to lightly poke Kiba in the side.

This had little to no effect, just making the dog boy curl up tighter.

Crawling out of bed, Fury sat in front of his, lightly shaking his shoulders to try and wake him. Of course, he was awake with this treatment, but kept his eyes closed and tried to wave her off.

Growling, she leaned down. "Don't make me get the nail polish."

Kiba sat up quickly, pulling his toes under him, as if to protect them. "Don't even think about it!!"

Fury shrugged, getting up. "Well, then actually wake up when I poke you."

Kiba glared at her, sighting his coat on her bed and nabbing it back, glaring at Akamaru as well as the little dog barked, looking for the same morning scratch that he had gotten from Fury.

"Yeah right." Kiba snorted. "You probably thought that pretty funny, didn't you? If you like what she does, why don't you go talk to her?"

"Because I already scratched him." Fury replied before the dog could start whimpering at his owner. "Now get dressed so we can go... The sooner I get out there, the less time I have to chicken out."

"You can't chicken out. If you don't show up, I have rights to drag you there." Kiba said this while yawning widely, shrugging on his shirt, his coat, and then groping the floor for his pants.

"You don't have to... I just wanna get moving..."

* * *

When Lee left his room, he was surprised to find Loor was actually in bed for once. He had almost gotten used to chasing her down every morning, but she was actually sitting on the floor just out side his room, stretching this way and that, trying to wake herself up.

He couldn't help a wince when she sat with her legs crossed, twisting her back, as it must have cracked more than fifteen times. "Good morning." She said, her tone cheerful, even though she didn't even look at him.

"Morning." Lee replied, sitting down by her. He was already dressed for the day, though she still sat in her underwear during her morning stretches. "Are you ready?"

She snorted at the question, as if it didn't need to be asked. "To wipe the floor with Fury-chan? Bring it on."

He smirked at how cocky she was. "If that is the way you feel about it, perhaps I should add to the challenge."

"And how would you do that?" Loor asked, leaning back, doing a bridge and lowering her face to the floor in the process.

Lee waited till she had righted herself, and then lifted up two little gray sacks, as if he would presenting a great deal of money to a ten year old.

Loor knew what those thin sacks were; they were extra weights! She grinned, being the kind of gal who wore the leg weights at all times, even as she slept. Thus was the case at the current moment, and she quickly brought a leg forward and held out a hand so she could slip it into the proper compartment herself.

He handed them over, and she added them with pride before putting her hands to the floor, lifting her lower quarters into the air and picking up one leg to test the weight, extending it over her head. "Hm... forty pounds... should be interesting."

He nodded slightly as she righted herself once more and stood up, lifting her legs every which way to get the feel of the new weights. "Feels good." She finally said, grabbing her pants and pulling them on over the weights, and then finding her coat to tie around her hips. She only wore it at night, and usually not for very long. The effects of the past month had, at first, been a very deep red sunburn, followed by the eventual evening out into tan when she stopped feeling the pain. To add to that, her usually pale freckles were a thick coating across her face and down her arms. Of course, her legs were still a pale as anything, so it was an odd contrast.

"I will give you the rest of them later today." Lee said, getting up as well.

"Huh?" She asked. She highly doubted she could handle full weight now, so why would he hand them off?

"I assume you will be changing residences once Kakashi and his team take you and your sister." He gave her a rueful smile. "I'll trust you to add the rest of them yourself without over doing it."

Loor shook her head, smirking. "Well, you know me, always biting off more than I can chew."

He snickered. Of course he knew.

"Hey Lee, you up for a race?" Loor gave after a few moments more of stretching. "Thirteen ryo says I can beat you down to Ichiraku's."

"You do not have any money, Loor." Lee reminded.

"Well then, I better not lose."

Lee smirked at her attitude. He liked that.

* * *

"Ugh! He's late again!"

"Take it easy, Sakura. He's _always _late."

Sakura, as she was named, turned upon the blond haired male who had mentioned this fact. "I know he is, Naruto! I just wish that Kakashi could be on time for once in his life! We're taking on two non-nin as students, and he can't even show up at the right time to make a good first impression!"

"You can't even expect that from him. If you don't remember, he was late when he took us on too."

Sakura glanced at the other boy of the group, the raven-haired boy who looked ultimately bored. "Yeah, Sasuke... I know." She sighed, shrugging. The black haired boy seemed to have an effect that made her agree with him at once, going slightly pink. "I shouldn't have said anything."

Naruto growled at his two teammates. There was Sasuke, with his big-ass ego, and Sakura just following along with anything he said! "Man!" Naruto snapped, kicking a tree. "And the two newbies are late too! I skipped breakfast just because I thought I was gonna meet someone new!"

Sakura took on a brainy tone. "Naruto, all you eat in the morning is instant ramen. You could have put the water in it an eaten on the way."

Naruto's clear blue eyes focused upon Sakura for a few moments, and then he sat down, sighing. "Man... I should have thought of that..."

"Shut up you two." Sasuke gave, monotone as ever. His head had risen from his chest, obsidian eyes focusing on the path that led to the training grounds with the vertical posts. "Looks like we have our first new student."

Sasuke was right, as there were two people coming down the path, but one of them was part of the rookie nine; Kiba. The other person was female, with brown hair that was as long as Sakura's, and had a sliver streak that followed the hair framing her face. She wore a simple green T-shirt with dark blue pants and shoes like any other nin in training.

She didn't looked that happy to be there. Once brought into close range, a nervous smile on her face was made obvious. Kiba gave her a friendly nudge, and then went to join the group that was already present. "Kakashi ain't here yet, huh?" The dog boy asked, raising an eyebrow.

Naruto shrugged. "You know it."

The new girl froze as the three people she didn't know focused upon her. "Um... ah... My name is Fury..." She finally said, her face turning a shade of red embarrassment. She didn't like all the attention.

"Nice to meet you." The other girl present greeted. Fury had to give her a double take, mainly because she looked a little strange. Oh sure, the other girl's build was much like Fury's, if not a little taller. She wore a short maroon dress, it would seem, with longer tight blue shorts and a weapons pouch set just above the knee. That wasn't what made Fury give her a funny look.

This cheerful girl had vivid pink hair.

"I'm Sakura." The pink haired girl went on. She kept a big smile as she turned to the boy who had black hair, a blue high collared shirt, and white shorts, along with loose half sleeves that covered his forearms. "That's Sasuke."

Sasuke, who had gone back to having his arms crossed over his chest and his head down, opened one eye, sizing Fury up, and then closing it again. In Fury's mind, she thought he looked like a Gothic cockatoo, seeing as his hair was long in the front, and short in the back, naturally spiked up like a cowlick.

"Hey, hey, hey!" The last boy yelped. Fury glanced over at him, and both Sakura and Sasuke looked at him in annoyance. "Ya gonna forget all about me, Sakura?!"

Sakura looked like she had been planning on it, rolling her eyes. "That knuckle head is Naruto."

"Knuckle head?!" Naruto crowed. Fury wondered how this kid was supposedly a ninja. He wore a bright orange coat and pants, had short blond hair that thus stuck up on its own, and marks on his face that looked like whiskers. "You're talkin' about your next Hokage, who just got a big ol' bridge named after him! Believe it!"

Kiba gave Naruto a look. "Why would they name a bridge after you?" He asked with a smirk. "The only thing they'd name after you is the ruins after you wrecked it."

Akamaru, who was in Kiba's hood, barked agreement.

"Yeah right!" Naruto batted back. "They named it after me because I saved the whole thing! And Sasuke nearly got killed!"

"Why do you sound so happy about that?!" Sakura yelped, glaring.

"Glad I didn't miss the party..."

Five heads snapped over to see that another girl had just made her entrance, only she was alone. She stood slightly taller than Fury, wore a black sports bra as a top, had more freckles than the sky had stars on her arms and face alone, and baggy black night pants with, once again, the open toe shoes that ninja in these parts seemed to be known for. To top it off, she had bright electric blue eyes and longer blond hair, falling between her shoulder blades. Fury, at seeing the new arrival, dropped her head back towards Kiba.

"And you are?" Naruto asked, jumping forward.

Loor gave Naruto a quick up down. "Jeez, it's like looking into a mirror that changes your gender and wardrobe." She snickered at Naruto, offering a hand. "Name's Loor. By the way you look, I'd have to say you're Naruto."

"Whoa, you know me?!" Naruto's voice almost gave an adolescent squeak, taking her hand for a quick shake.

Loor smirked. He had a firm shake, if not a little too firm. The sign of someone who was always trying to prove themselves. "Yeah. That Konohamaru kid never shuts up about you."

"Sounds like him." Naruto seemed rather proud of that fact. "So why were you so late?"

"Lost a bet." Loor snickered. "So my sensai had me run a few laps... no biggy." She then let herself past him, giving a look to the other two. "And these two are?"

"That's Sakura!" Naruto quickly pointed, giving a big grin that dropped off as he, with much less zeal, pointed at the other boy that Loor didn't know. "And that's Sasuke... The three of us, and our sensai, are team seven of the ten teams that came out of our class."

Sakura waved a little, giving a smile, and Sasuke gave her the same look that he had given Fury before looking bored once more.

Loor glanced around, and then looked at Kiba for a moment, her eyes sighting Fury and trying to ignore the thoughts that gnawed at her mind. "Hey, Scruffy."

"Blondie." Kiba batted back.

"So..." Loor glanced around. "Where's this Kakashi guy that I've heard so much about? You'd think the guy would actually be here early."

"Heh, maybe when hell freezes over." Sakura gave, leaning against a tree and lacing her fingers behind her head.

"Loverly." Loor sighed, giving Sakura the raised eyebrow. "So, what's up with the pink hair?"

"It's natural." Sakura gave, a self conscious hand brushing through one of the two long locks that hung by her face, her Konoha ninja headband tied in her hair just behind her ears, on top of her head, to keep extra hair out of her face.

Loor rolled her eyes. "Yeah, sure. Pink hair is natural and that Sasuke guy over there bleeds black. Seriously, _pink?" _

Naruto gave a slight huff. "I wouldn't be surprised."

What would have bloomed into a wonderful argument between the students of team seven and the standoffish newbie was cut short, seeing as someone had just arrived. He seemed to appear out of nowhere, sitting atop one of the vertical posts.

Both Loor and Fury looked, questioning in their eyes. The man had a thin build of someone in their mid twenties, dressed in baggy black pants, the famous open toe shoes, a black long sleeved shirt that went up into a mask covering half of his face, and a green vest that was zipped closed. He wore gloves with metal plates on his hands, and one hand held an orange book with a large red 'R' on the back. His headband was tilted to cover his left eye, letting his silver hair be tousled and spill off of his head in that direction.

And no matter how haphazard he looked... both Loor and Fury could feel that this guy was powerful.

"Sorry." Came his smooth voice through the thin facemask. "I got lost."

Naruto growled. "You used that excuse before we left on that mission!" he shouted, pointing a finger at this guy. "You probably won't even die on time at this rate, Kakashi sensai!"

The question on how someone dies on time was left unvoiced.

Kakashi ignored Naruto, putting his book away in the weapons pouch that was on the back of his pants and jumping down. His one visible eye glanced between Loor and Fury, and he sighed. "You two look a little different... but I guess that comes from seeing a person being conscious."

Fury had stood up, away from Kiba, to present herself. Loor had also come closer, though she glared at this guy.

There was silence, and Kakashi had to prod. "Do I even get names, or are we all just going to stand off?"

Fury broke the ice, becoming flustered. "O-oh sorry!" She yelped. "My name's Fury, a-and that's Loor!" She pointed, not even looking at her sister, who was hardly an arm's length away. The effect of this was that Fury nearly poked Loor in the face.

Loor stood for a moment more, and then gave a heavy sigh. "So, you're the guy who saved us from the Oro-bastard."

Kakashi nodded, though he made no move of pride, or regret that he had saved someone who didn't really have any thoughts on thanking him, though Fury did.

"T-t-thank you!" Fury stuttered out, bowing slightly. "Too bad we can't return the favor."

"You can return the favor by being good students." Kakashi gave, his eye lazily drifting to Loor.

Loor looked angry. One second, Kakashi was staring her down. The next, Loor had lashed out, and the older man had to catch her fist. Not that such a thing was very hard for him; but it was an odd way for someone to react once they had their life saved by someone.

"Did you think I was someone else?" Kakashi questioned, his voice even.

"No." Loor let her fist back, relaxing. "But next time you think saving _me_ is a good idea, keep walkin'."

Sakura sighed, off to the side. Just great, another big ego she'd have to deal with.

"You had feinted." Kakashi gave back. "I was either going to save your life or watch you get killed like you watched your family."

"Oh yeah, and who was protecting Fury?"

"Kurenai had chased the other man off."

Loor snorted, shaking her head and crossing her arms over her chest. She still didn't seem happy about the thought of getting rescued, but she'd live with it.

Fury bowed again. "Sorry... she's like that..."

Kakashi shrugged. "Well... as far as first impressions go, I'd say I've got one nice person on my hands..." He glanced at Fury. "And a new idiot." His gaze shifted to Loor, who had already turned her back on him.

"Yeah, and we're sisters." Loor gave, sounding peeved. "So let's get on with this already!"

Fury felt a slight fear shoot through her like it had that morning. Loor was rearing for a fight... she was tough when she was like that.

"Alright then..." Kakashi said, getting his own team and Kiba to back off like a dutiful parent. Fury came out to the long field of grass that Loor already stood upon. They faced each other, and Loor untied her coat from her waste, tossing it aside. Fury just stared for a few moments, and then they both took their stances. Loor; head on. Fury; to the side.

It seemed the world hit pause long enough for thousands of thoughts to shoot through both girls. Fury had an intense want to win, but felt as if the odds were against her. Loor, for once in her life, wanted to scream 'Stop!' but didn't.

"Go."

Kakashi's quiet and monotone voice triggered no movement at all. The girls faced each other as a quiet breeze took through the area, brushing their hair, shifting their clothes.

One could insert the theme for 'The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly' for the way that Fury and Loor were glaring at each other.

Finally, Loor snickered. "What, can't you move, mama's girl?"

"Can't you, you dumb blond?!"

Loor twitched. Fury knew how to play her anger, obviously. Still, she didn't jump. She just waited a few more moments.

That's when Fury got a grin to her face. "You think you're so tough, don't you?" Fury asked. "If you're so tough... I'll let you try this one on!"

Loor watched as Fury faced head on and brought her hands together in three signs that were in such quick session that she almost couldn't see them. The first was her palm placed upon her fist, the sign for dog, followed by her palms together, the thumbs and pinkies intertwined, the sign for monkey, and last, the sign used for gathering chakra, hands clasped with the thumbs together and the ring finger and pointer finger extended and together, the sign of the ram.

During this, Loor felt Fury brining up her own energy, and the last sign used it in something that caused Loor to see triple.

Instead of just one Fury, there were three. Two copies came from her, stepping to either side. Fury's now cocky smile was mirrored on both of them. "Kiba taught me a genjutsu while you weren't looking, _Onee-san!"_

"Doppelgangers..." Kakashi muttered. "Impressive for someone who's never been trained formally, even if they're just images."

Loor glanced between the three Furys that she saw, puzzled and shocked at first. Fury stood, letting her adsorb it, feeling all too proud of herself.

"What," The illusion of three identical voices called. "Did I finally get past you, _Onee-san?"_

Loor's eyes shifted among the three of them, and followed it up with a smirk. "You sure did, Fury. But if you think having two more of yourself is going to make a difference..." She took her stance once more before charging forward. "You're wrong!"

Kakashi crossed his arms, watching this clash, aware of some alternative emotional motive on both sides.

This was going to be interesting.


	15. Entry Forms

Three of Five…

**No Ownage.**

OWTF!!

**Markings- Chapter Fifteen**  
**Entry Forms**

Of the many things that Loor was expecting from Fury in this fight, a jutsu was not one of them. Loor didn't even know any jutsu! She knew a few good knock down moves that Lee had taught her, but not much beyond that. It had gotten her a little off balance, but she wouldn't let it bother her for long. She had charged for a reason.

Loor made a full run for the Fury that was left of center, and the other two scrambled. The one she had charged at lifted her arms to block herself, and Loor went to kick her, fully aware that it was simply a copy, and that it would puff out of existence.

She looked to see another one attacking her, and brought the kick around, knee first, to smack solidly into Fury's stomach. The real Fury.

"Where's your birth mark?" Loor spat over the shoulder of the real Fury, speaking to the second fake.

It was true. Both copies lacked Fury's sliver streak of hair.

Spitting these words let Loor's guard down though, and Fury, was able to throw her aside with more strength than Loor knew she had. Loor landed on her feet, but Fury was already gone, behind her, making Loor's breath skip. She still didn't like it when people dashed around her, but she'd live, jumping forward herself and turning, but Fury was gone yet again, smacking Loor in the back with one fist, the other taking advantage as she arched, grabbing Loor's shoulders and flipping her over the fist that was already in her lower back.

Loor met the ground face first.

"Isn't it fun when your enemy can't see you, Loor?" Fury teased.

Loor growled at her, kicking off of the ground, and getting to her feet, panting slightly. Loor was winded, and Fury still looked fine.

Fury had changed, it would seem. She was so fast now, even without dashing, and Loor could tell she had gotten stronger just by that move of flipping her over.

"Lee's gonna haft ta forgive me then..." Loor gave, grinning. Fury tensed as the blond girl reached down, pulling up her pant legs to get at something.

"What are those...?"

"Forty pounds each." Loor snickered, undoing the clips for her leg weights. "Eighty pounds that I don't need right now."

Those weights were left upon the ground, and Fury gasped as it was Loor who did the vanishing act.

"No then, where were we?"

Behind her, Loor spoke this quietly before driving a tough kick into Fury's side, knocking her pretty far. Loor's follow through overbalanced her though, her control nearly shot now that her legs were so light. Fury landed hard, but came back quickly, head down, arms back, simply pushing her chakra forward in her chest to speed her up, but not to dash. In such a case, she didn't need to pump her arms, and they were free to rear back and go for Loor, who caught them both and gripped them.

The girls stood locked, but Loor was hardly trying. She wanted Fury to tire herself out and make this easy. "Why don't you quit now, you little cry baby?" Loor hissed.

"You first, you egotistical bitch."

"Grandma."

"Slut."

"Mute mouse."

"Obnoxious knuckle head."

"Premature weakling."

"Transsexual wannabe."

Loor roared at her, gripping harder and lifting her off of the ground, turning in a quick circle and throwing her. She didn't stop there, coming after the brown haired girl as she rolled on the ground, picking her up before she could get up, and holding a fist back till Fury opened her jade eyes and looked at her older sister.

Following that, said elder sister attempted to knock out the younger sister's teeth. Her fist came forward...

Only for Fury's face to vanish in a puff of smoke, along with the rest of her. Clutched now, in Loor's angry hand, was a tree branch. "What the...?"

"Substitution!" Fury cried triumphantly, coming out of the woods and back into the clearing, foot first, hitting Loor square in the chest and knocking her to her back. She held Loor there too, on the ground, grinning. "A simple ninja technique of replacing yourself with a nearby object and get the upper hand."

Loor was coughing, the wind knocked out of her lungs, as Fury stomped on her stomach, making it even harder to breathe. "What, big sister? All out of steam? All done after all that big talk about killing him? What was it, ripping him limb from limb? Not caring if he killed my family?"

Loor wanted to roll to her side and clutch her stomach, seeing as Fury punctuated every question with another smart stomp. It just hurt though, and forced air out of her lungs. She'd have some bruises too.

Fury waited for an answer though, and that left her wide open. Without thought, Loor's hands took up on Fury's ankle and leg, twisting, hard. Fury yelped in pain, turning around to try and keep this twist from damaging her, but Loor twisted further, strong hands holding Fury as Loor pushed herself to her feet, yanking the leg up until Fury fell on her face.

Loor thought seriously about breaking the shin she held in her hands, but didn't, letting go and backing off, waiting for her to get back up. "C'mon! Now who's the big talker? Get off of your damn face! If you wanna run with the big dogs, you gotta learn to piss on the tall grass!"

Too bad for Loor that she was standing so close behind Fury. The girl didn't think about it, getting first to her knees, and then lifting her lower body, legs out in a strong donkey kick. Loor didn't exactly fly, but it knocked her back enough for Fury to get up without being afraid of getting knocked back down.

Fury turned, and the two girls faced each other again; both wheezing.

Off to the side, Kakashi walked up. "Enough." He said. Behind him, the rest of team seven, and Kiba, was wondering what the hell was going on with the argument that had laced this fight, but said nothing.

"Enough?!" Loor snapped. "I'm just gettin' started!"

Kakashi's eye, which had seemed so lazy before, became sharp enough to cut through something as hard as steel. "You were both fighting angry. You two fight like a couple of little kids, and I'm supposed to train you into the shinobi way." He turned his gaze upon Fury. "You have everything you need, and yet you can't throw a single punch, like you're afraid of actually hurting your enemy. When you did attack her, it was obvious that your blows were blunted." He then swayed to Loor. "You're on pure emotion. If you calmed down enough to actually think, you might have gotten her right after the doppelgangers."

In the background, Sakura winced. This sounded all too much like Kakashi's angry critique after he had given them pass-or-fail training with those stupid bells... As if Kakashi were reading her mind, her sensai glanced at her, and she could see him giving a smile behind the mask.

Kakashi's gaze relaxed, and that smile turned upon Fury and Loor. "You will begin training bright and early, tomorrow, together. You two will meet right here, six AM sharp... and I suggest you don't eat breakfast."

Both Fury and Loor nodded in sync, having just come out of their battle postures. Of course, this shared action made them look at each other, glare, and look away, both with a dismissive 'Humph."

"Now then..." Kakashi turned back to his own team, giving a glance to Kiba. "Why are you still here?"

"I had to see how Fury would do." Kiba replied, getting up, grabbing his dog. He walked over to Fury, rather quickly, while letting Akamaru into his hood once more. "But I need to get moving..." He stopped near Fury, who looked at him. "Good job."

Fury nodded, smiling, bother herself and Kiba sharing a quickly hug.

Aside, Loor was glaring at the boy with her fists clenched as she had leaned down to put her weights back on.

As Kiba left, Kakashi sighed, looking at his team and sticking a hand in a pocket. "As for you three... the chunnin exams are coming up, and I've recommended all three of you."

"The chunnin exams?" Sakura yelped. "Kakashi, do you honestly think we're ready for something like that?"

Sasuke didn't react, which seemed to be typical behavior, but Naruto seemed confused. "The chunnin exams...? What's that?"

"Naruto!" Sakura scolded, like a fellow classmate grousing about a test question that had been studied thousands of times. "The chunnin exams are tests to see if you're ready to be a chunnin level ninja. You get better missions, but they're more dangerous. Its proof that you're more powerful than you were before."

"Really...?" Naruto scratched the side of his face for a moment, looking lost in his own mind, and then grinned. "Alright then, where do I sign up!? I'll do this and decimate the competition, believe it!"

Kakashi pulled his hand out of his pocket. "I was expecting that you'd be happy about this, Naruto." In his hand were three cards, one for each of his team. "These are simple entry forms. Fill them out, and turn them in at room 305 at the academy, one week from now."

Each took his or her own form, Sasuke moving for the first time either Loor or Fury had seen.

"Think about it though." Kakashi advised. "The chunnin exams are dangerous to those who don't come prepared... sometimes deadly."

Loor stood with a smirk on her face. These... chunnin exams, sounded right up her alley. She had to wonder if Lee was entering too... or anyone else from around the village for that matter. Maybe she could score an entry form or something...

Fury, seeing that smirk on Loor's face, groaned quietly. She knew that look all too well... when Loor got that look, it didn't really matter what was standing in her way; she'd break rules to do what she wanted. And Loor had one week to break those rules... joyous.

After another moment, Kakashi left, and team seven slowly broke apart. Sasuke went off by himself, of course, while Naruto sat down, fiddling with his form. Sakura looked like she wanted to follow Sasuke, but exited the clearing by a different route.

Loor watched as Fury left, her hands stuffed into her pockets, and went up to Naruto.

"Hey there." Loor greeted, grabbing her discarded jacket and tying it around her middle.

"Hey." Naruto returned, seeming distracted by the item in his hands. After a few seconds, he looked up. "So, do you know anything about the chunnin exams?"

Loor shrugged, sitting down and sighing. "No, not really. I probably know less about this whole shindig than anyone else in the village, buddy boy. Though the chunnins sound interesting..."

"You bet they do!" Naruto grinned. "Man, I'm gonna beat everyone, believe it!"

Loor raised an eyebrow. That was the second time this kid had said 'believe it.' Was it his catch phrase or something?

"H-hey! What's that look for?" Naruto asked.

"A couple of things, but I'm only gonna ask about one of them."

"Huh?"

"What's with the whiskers?" She asked, indicating the lines on his cheeks. They didn't look like he put them there himself, though it wouldn't put her off if he did.

"Whiskers...?" He questioned. His blue eyes seemed curious, but then he got it. "Oh, you mean the lines on my face!" He shrugged. "I dunno... they're kinda like birth marks... sorta."

Loor could sense it. There was a story; the kid knew something. Still, it was an insecure something. Naruto wasn't likely to talk about it. She respected distance on a touchy subject, and moved on. "So, I take it you're going to enter."

"Of course I am." He grinned. "And I hope Sasuke enters too so I can whip his butt!"

"You don't like him much?"

"Of course I don't!" Naruto suddenly leaned forward, sitting back on his heels like an animal sitting on it's haunches, his hands down on the ground. "He never says anything unless he's gonna insult someone, he never shows emotion, and everyone _loves_ him! It's always about Sasuke, and I never get any respect!"

So Loor had been right in her thoughts. Sasuke was a too good for everyone jerk-off with a superiority complex.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I don't love him." She gave with a smile. "I hate guys like that."

"Really?" Naruto asked, cocking his head to one side. Apparently, this was an unheard-of concept.

"Really." She stretched her arms over her head, sighing. "If you ask me, whether he's an emo poser or he actually has problems, constantly moping and being a loner isn't going to help. Some random tragedy happened in your life; so what? Move on. Sure, it's okay to have that on your mind, but if it didn't kill you, it made you stronger."

Naruto nodded, suddenly grinning. "Right! Like I never knew my parents, but I don't let it bother me that much! I just keep moving."

"You're an orphan?" Loor questioned.

"Yeah." Naruto's enthusiasm died just a little bit. "It's no biggy though. What about you? Where's your family?"

Loor made a point of making sure her voice stayed even. "You could say I was... recently orphaned."

"Oh... sorry."

"Naw, it's cool. About a month ago... so no worries."

"Man." Naruto still seemed to be taken aback by the fact. "I mean, it's tough growing up on your own... but just a month ago?"

She nudged him. "I'll live." She got up, as if to leave, and Naruto turned his gaze back down to his hand. Loor had a feeling this kid was used to getting left behind.

Almost automatically, she offered a hand. "Hey, c'mon."

"Huh?" Naruto asked, looking at her.

"I haven't seen Konohamaru in a while, what's say we go find him?"

Naruto looked at her hand for a moment, and then grinned, putting his entry form away and taking it to get up. "Sure! Though he usually has a habit of finding me... Hey, do you like ramen?"

She snickered. "Dude, I practically live off of the stuff, but I don't have any money right now."

He gave her a big grin. "I'll cover you this time! Let's go!"

* * *

Fury had her head down, hands in her pockets, kicking a rock down a street in Konoha. She was angry, of course. She felt stupid for not apologizing to Loor the second she saw her, bad for not winning the match, and down right horrid after what Kakashi had said. She _was_ afraid of hurting people. She could hardly help it, and yet, even in her anger, she couldn't throw one good punch.

She gave the rock a kick that cast it several feet, nearly hitting someone in front of her, and then clattering down a storm drain.

"Hey! Fury!"

Fury turned, just wondering if the day had any hopes of getting better.

Oddly enough it did. Running up to greet her, of all people, was Kabuto. They had been meeting off and on for the last month, mainly just to hang for lunch, which was always met by a just glare from Kiba. The two of them were friends now, so Fury waved to him with a smile. "Hey!"

Kabuto was very happy, catching up and walking with her. "Did you hear?" He asked, seeming like a teenager who just heard their favorite band was coming to town. "They're holding the chunnins early."

"I knew they were holding them." Fury replied. "I didn't think this was early, though."

"Just by a few weeks, but I'm really excited." Kabuto held up his entry form. "I feel like I'm going to do it this time..."

"I know you'll make it." Fury assured, smiling at him. "But can I ask a question... what do you have to do to enter?"

"Well, first, you have to be a genin level ninja." He answered. "Other than that, you have to have at least eight missions under your belt of any level, which makes you able to enter."

"I see..." Fury sighed.

"Why?"

"I think Loor wants to try it, but she ain't gonna be happy when she hears that she's not even allowed to enter."

"Well, maybe the next time they come."

"I think we'll be gone by then." She gave a depressed sigh. "And I know that she'll probably sneak in if she has to."

"I wouldn't suggest that..." He seemed a little frightened of someone doing such a thing. "Sneaking in is a right way to get yourself killed. The second part of the chunnin exams are held in a second of the Konoha woods aptly named the Forest Of Death. Aside from other ninja, there's various natural dangers you have to worry about like flesh eating bugs and other things of that sort."

She shuddered. "Sounds so friendly..." She gave, sarcastic.

"Why do you think I've failed so many times? Usually, after that, I'm so tired that I back out of the third round."

"What's the third round?" Fury asked, interested.

"One on one combat, matches picked at random." He replied. "And these matches will sometimes be fought to the death, depending on who you get and where they're from."

"Where they're from?" She questioned. "You mean, they're not all from here?"

"No, not at all." He answered. "They're from villages all around Konoha, whether they're allies or not. The other villages send their very best... in hopes that they'll _kill_ the competition, in the cases of their competition being enemy nin."

Fury, despite her current anger at Loor, felt a slight twitch of fear for her. Loor had issues with being stupid when she wanted something...

Fury really hoped Loor came to her senses soon.


	16. Bells

Four of Five….

**No ownage.**

OWTF!!

**Markings- Chapter Sixteen  
****Bells**

"Dude, there is just no way! Believe it!"

"No, buddy boy, you better believe it!"

Loor wasn't quite sure why she was laughing so loudly over such a simple fact. Maybe it was because Naruto had started it.

"You're telling me you were an outcast when you were a kid?" Naruto repeated for the fifth time. "C'mon, you're way too pretty!"

"Looks ain't got nothing to do with it." She snickered, calming down from the constant joking and prodding that had been going on at the ramen bar. They both laughed easy, and Loor loved seeing people laugh, so all was well. As they continued their walk away from where they had lunch, Loor gave a loud belch that send them both into hysterics again.

"My complements to the chef!" She yelled, turning around to the bar, though they were way too far off for anyone there to hear them, and then turning around again, nearly tripping in the process. He caught her, and then nearly fell himself, this hectic laughter continuing through the whole clumsy action.

"Alright... alright..." Naruto said, panting for air slightly. "So... why?"

"Why?" She had already caught her breath, the straighter of the two of them. She was used to quickly moving in and out of being really happy to very serious. "I'm not quite sure. It was like... I came to school, and no one wanted anything to do with me. I had one friend, and she was a self-centered so-an-so if you know what I mean. Always the same games... and if she didn't win, she threw a fit!"

"Whoa. Kinda sounds like what happened with me. So wha'd ya do?"

"What did I do?" She shrugged. "At first, I tried to stay under the radar. I read a lot, adsorbed a lot of information, and tried not to associate with the others, mainly because I knew I'd be laughed at if I opened my trap... kinda funny, when I was... I think I was seven, they informed me that I was ADHD for donkey kicking a kid who pissed me off during story time."

"Why?" He asked, giving a funny look.

"Because, they asked me why I did it and I told them I was bored. Apparently, according to them anyway, you can't be seven years old and be bored during story time."

They both snickered at the dry tone in Loor's voice. They turned a corner, and kept walking, and both noticed something in the street that they had turned onto. The street itself was a back road, so there wasn't anyone but them on it, and a strange box that was turned upside down with the pattern of yellow cobble stones, much like the ones that made up the road, on the ground. Also, to add onto that, were two holes poked in the front.

Naruto and Loor traded knowing looks, and kept walking, well aware that the box had begun to follow them when they turned their backs. Of course, they paused, and looked back again, and the box stilled itself.

Loor gave a small laugh, rolling her eyes. "Alrighty then, Kony, why don't you come out now?"

"Kony?" Naruto questioned.

"Konohamaru is a bit of a mouthful for me."

After a few seconds more, the box spoke. "Man, Loor, you got a good eye! You spotted us before the boss did!"

Naruto said nothing, but both himself and Loor gave a small yelp as the box was thrown aside in three separate explosions of smoke. In a few moments, the smoke cleared, showing three kids, Kony being one of them, all coughing.

"I... think... that was too much gunpowder Udon!" Kony gave, trying to clear himself of the heavy sulfur smell.

"S-s-sorry!" The second boy in the group gave, the same age as Kony, sneezing like he had an allergy to something.

"Naruto, they're multiplying..." Loor muttered with a raised eyebrow.

As the smoke cleared, Loor could see all three children clearly. There was Kony at the head of the group, a girl with short flaming red hair behind him, dressed in a simple summer outfit for girls, and a boy behind her, probably the boy named Udon, who had short black hair, square rimmed glasses, and wore a T shirt with knee-length shorts. This boy, Udon, also seemed to have a cold, sniffing before and after he spoke. This trio had three things in common; they were all kids, they all had those open toe shoes everyone was known for, and they all had a set of green goggles on their foreheads.

"Hey!" Naruto gave. "I know Konohamaru, but who are you two?"

Kony grinned. "I'm glad you asked!" He turned around. "These are my two followers and friends, Mogi," He pointed at the girl, who instantly struck a pose.

"Hehe! I'm the cute one!"

"And Udon!"

Udon, as if in response, stood a little straighter and sniffed, pushing his glasses up on his nose. "Uh... hi."

Loor gave a happy sigh. "Thank God for short names."

"And what's with the goggles?" Naruto asked, ignoring Loor's comment.

"You used to wear goggles!" Kony replied, turning back to Naruto and Loor in a flourish. "Before you got your headband to hold up that spiky mop of yours!"

Loor looked at Naruto. In all honesty, she had gotten used to seeing people in headbands, she hadn't noticed the one that Naruto wore on his forehead, that was indeed keeping the front of his hair sticking up like all the rest.

Loor rolled her eyes slightly, and looked back at the kids. "So, why'd you guys sneak up on us?"

"Because the boss promised he'd play ninja with us when he got back!"

Naruto groaned. "That was a month ago! You expect me to remember?"

"No, but I expect you to keep your promise!"

"Hey, Naruto!"

All five heads in the area turned towards one incoming person; Sakura. She had been walking, but jogged the rest of the way over.

"Hey Sakura..." Naruto waved slowly, as if she didn't talk to him that much.

Kony looked between the look on Naruto's face, and Sakura, and then back to Naruto. "Hey, hey, hey! Boss! You sly dog!"

Naruto looked down at Kony. "Huh?"

"Don't tell me..." He looked at Sakura again. "This pretty girl is your..." He grinned now. "_girlfriend?"_

Naruto actually got a slight blush to his face. "Well... ah... I..."

Sakura looked royally pissed at such a thought. "Na...Ru...To..." She growled, cracking her knuckles. Naruto looked over at her, at first oblivious, and then fearful for the short seconds that went by before her fist met his face, driving him a few feet down the street. "Like I'd ever go out with you! Cha!"

Loor was quickly getting confused, and backed out of the way as Kony had to push it.

"Ah! That was a dirty move! No one punches the boss!" Kony's voice gave away the faces of all three children in his group. "You're a lousy girlfriend!"

Sakura quickly turned upon the kid, glaring, and punting him further than Naruto went, sending him down the street...

To run into someone who had recently turned onto the street.

The boy that Kony crashed into was obviously a teenager, probably thirteen going on fourteen, and dressed in an all black baggy suit that went head to toe, including a hood that had two points like cat ears. They boy himself had a strange thing on his back, like a cocoon wrapped up in bandages with a great amount of fuzz peaking out of the top.

Loor had to raise an eyebrow at this boy for two reasons. One was that his face was covered in symmetrical lines of purple paint, and the other was his headband, mounted on his hood... had a different symbol from everyone else's. The symbol looked like a fat hourglass with a bar over it.

The new arrival looked down at Kony, glaring. "What are you doing, punk?" He asked, seeming to be a tough guy. Behind him entered a second person with a headband around her neck bearing the same symbol. She stood slightly shorter, but seemed to be older, dirty blond hair pulled back into four bushy tails. She wore what looked like a short lavender kimono, broken fishnet shorts, and a five-foot... black box on her back.

"Kankuro..." She muttered as the boy, glaring slightly, watching as he leaned down to pick up Konohamaru by the front of his shirt.

"What? Just checking out the competition, Temari."

Loor growled, both herself and Naruto taking a step forward. "Hey, let Kony go! He didn't do nothin'!" She barked, fists clenched.

Konohamaru was struggling against the older boy, but didn't have any chance. "If you want me to let him go..." Kankuro teased. "Why don't you come and get him?"

Naruto growled at the challenge. "You're gonna regret that, believe it!"

Before anyone else could move, Naruto charged...

To be knocked back. Kankuro nailed him with one fist and made him fly all the way to Loor's feet.

Kankuro spat. "Feh, this is the leaf village's genin? Weaklings..." He growled, glaring at Konohamaru. "They make me sick."

Loor gave a slight roar, charging herself, aiming herself more towards Kankuro's occupied side. She didn't care if Naruto just got knocked back, she wanted a piece of this guy! "We told you to let him go, damn it!"

Loor, like Naruto, was knocked back in a painful fashion, but not before she got a death grip on Konohamaru's shirt. When she was thrown, the kid came with her, and she rolled several feet, doing her best to curl and protect him.

When she came to a stop, she felt two other sets of little hands helping her up, along with Sakura's. Mogi and Udon were pulling on her, making sure she was okay, as Naruto and Sakura went to make a stand. As Loor stood, Naruto gave a glance back, and they traded a nod.

Loor turned, still carrying Kony, who didn't want to let go, quickly shepherding the other kids away, taking a quick and confusing path from the scene.

Man that was a tight scrape.

* * *

As all turned out, Loor and Fury kept their same residences from before. Fury still took her nights with Kiba, and Loor still hung with Lee, who began to foster her nighttime behavior, though she did not exhibit any of it the day they met Kakashi. Loor's mind was closer to whatever Kakashi was going to herself and Fury the next day.

He didn't want them fighting in anger... but they were angry at each other. That fact couldn't be helped.

Bright an early, as they were told, both girls arrived at the training grounds at six in the bloody morning. At first, they ignored each other in hopes that Kakashi would arrive soon and give them instruction.

As the sun began to crawl over the tree tops, and the teacher became continuously later and later, Loor had to open some sort of conversation.

"He's really late..."

Fury said nothing, leaning on one of the three vertical posts in the area and hefting a sigh.

"I mean... how can that guy expect to train us if he never shows up on time? God... I have half a mind to track him down. He's probably reading... he seemed pretty into that book the other day."

A few seconds were given. "...yeah... I guess... I don't know a lot of kanji... but the word 'Paradise' was on the front... and the picture of a boy chasing a girl."

This went through Loor's mind, and Fury heard her give a perverted giggle. "Ooo... sounds like my kind of literature."

"Yeah..." Fury heard her own stomach grumble. "Man... I'm hungry..."

"Heh, you actually listened and skipped breakfast, huh?"

"You didn't?" Fury yelped.

"I ran into Sakura on the way here..." Loor snickered. "She wouldn't tell me what we were in for, but she told me not to go without eating, or it would just be harder."

Out of the corner of Fury's eye, she saw her sister leaning over, her hand out. In that hand was something that registered as food, and Fury didn't care beyond that. She grabbed it, and started chomping away. "Mmm! It's sweet!" She gave, having just swallowed.

"Yeah. Sweet rice dumplings, or so Sakura said. It's junk food according to her, but they're good."

Fury nodded, finishing it off quickly. "How many did you have?"

"Sakura only gave me two." She snickered. "I think she knew I would share."

"Right..." Fury said after a while. In the silence, both girls faced away from each other, waiting, thinking, still aware of that they were angry at each other but forgetting long enough to eat something.

The silence installed itself into their thoughts as the sun crawled across the sky, making Loor put her coat down on the ground and bathe her back, followed by applying the coat over her face and bathing her front. Fury dozed off, and Loor did too after relaxing in the sun for long enough.

It was noon before their teacher arrived.

Both girls were awake again by this time, though Loor was dreary, and at once angry at his arrival. "What took you so damn long?!" She snarled, pushing herself to her feet.

Kakashi, who had his nose planted firmly in his book, looked innocently up at the blond. "Oh... sorry." He said much like he had the day before. "I slept through my alarm."

Loor glared at him for several moments, but decided throwing a punch wouldn't be worth the energy. "Alright then, what the hell are we doing here?" She finally snapped, grabbing her coat and tying it around her hips. Fury got up as well, standing at attention

"_Well," _Kakashi gave, giving a punctuated yawn, as if he were showing off the fact that he actually slept in while the two girls before him didn't even get a full night of sleep because they were probably nervous, "Seeing as yesterday's exercise was a bust, I decided to give you two the crash course. Of course, neither of you have any real ninja knowledge besides what your peer sensai have taught you, so this will just be my personal way of checking you since you couldn't check each other without constantly trying to make the other one angry."

Loor growled. This guy was really getting under her skin.

"The exercise is simple." Kakashi went on, putting his book away and fumbling about in a pocket. After a moment, he pulled out a single bell on a short red string. "You have to get this bell from me."

"That's it?" Fury gave, her eyebrows going to her hairline.

"That's it." Kakashi assured. "By getting the bell, you win lunch."

Both Loor and Fury thought about food for a moment, and their stomachs reminded them that one rice dumpling didn't sub in for a full morning meal. Still, Loor was already catching on to something.

"Whoa, whoa, back that one up, Kakashi. There's only one bell."

"And there's only two lunches." Kakashi returned. "One of them is mine. Once one of you gets a bell, the other will be tied up to one of these posts and will have to watch while myself and the victor eat. In the case that neither of you get a bell, you'll both be tied up, and I'll eat both lunches."

Loor shot a competitive glance at Fury. She wasn't going to lose.

But... how was she going to take on a full-grown shinobi? This guy may have looked dumpy... but he didn't seem it when he got serious. Before, when he had been criticizing herself and Fury... he was almost scary with the authority in his voice alone.

Kakashi leaned down, taking off a backpack that had been slung on his shoulder and pulling out a simple timer. "This will go off in two hours... when it does, your time is up. Oh yeah..." He locked his gaze with Loor's. "If you don't pass this test... I'll send you home without any further training, and perhaps have the ABUN black ops. erase your memory of ever being here."

Loor gave a slight twitch as the silver haired man tapped the release on the timer, making the clock begin on its incessant ticking down. Fury at once ran for the trees, but Loor decided that, without warning, she was gonna face him head on. She didn't care what anyone said, she could take anyone!

She'd always been able to take anyone.

She aimed a fist directly for Kakashi's gut, but that wasn't what she was thinking about. He seemed to almost know it too. He seemed to know that she would plant her feet, inches away from him, and move to the side to try and get him with her knee instead.

When she did, he was lighting fast in grabbing her by the shin and lifting her into the air.

"Leg weights... a beginner's tool." He commented, watching her calmly as she thought seriously about giving him a cheep shot to the groin. She didn't though, glaring up at him as her hair brushed the ground. "Though I'd have to say... for one month of training, fifty pounds per leg seems a little much. Wasn't it forty yesterday?"

Lee had still trusted Loor with the extra weights... she couldn't help being eager about it. Snarling at him, she arched her back and lifted her other leg, aiming to kick at his wrist, but he dropped her so she landed hard on her shoulders. She didn't wait for anything, whipping her leg around as she moved to get up, trying to trip him, but he jumped back, beginning to frustrate her. All the while, he still had the bell in his other hand, chiming sweetly, taunting her.

She stood for a few moments, snorting and tossing her head as she considered making another blunt attack. On the other hand... perhaps there was a better way to go about this...

She jumped back into the woods. Of all the things Loor knew, it would be woodlands, and how to effectively hide where no one would look. If she didn't want to be found, she simply wouldn't.

Somewhere else, Fury had watched this display, and had winced when Loor had landed so roughly on her back. As she laid in wait, watching, Kakashi began to stroll away from the clearing, fastening the bell on a belt loop so that it would chime whilst he walked, pulling out his book once more and planting his nose in it.

Quickly, Fury decided to move after him, doing her best to be quiet, but she was still getting a hang of the stealth thing when it came to woody areas. It seemed that Kakashi was aware of her, though he never looked up.

He made it obvious that he knew she was there as he came to another clearing. "A ninja should be able to hide themselves effectively... I would say that the calmer of my two new students needs a little work on that skill."

Fury winced, sinking back slightly as he stopped in the clearing. He was waiting for her to make a run at him...

A slight breeze went through, causing the bell to make a sweet sound, almost begging Fury to come and take it from him.

Fury sank back a few more feet, and then behind a tree, huffing. Kakashi stood, listening. "Retreating? Now what would your sister think of that?"

Fury didn't rise to it, beginning to walk away. She did so till she couldn't see him any more, and then turned, taking a wide spread stance. She couldn't see him, but she had no problem with that. What she needed right now was a silent surprise, and few things were more silent than the things that didn't exist.

_Dog... monkey... ram..._

Fury felt her energy flow out of her, producing ten illusions of herself. This time, she checked them to make sure they were perfectly identical. "Alright then..." She whispered.

In the center of these ten, she charged. She had to make noise, so he would suspect at least one of the copies of being solid...

Kakashi came back in sight, still looking calm, as Fury's copies ran up to him to appear to be attacking him. She had ran with the doppelgangers, trying to fake the nose, but he seemed to see right through it. He didn't bother to defend himself from a single one, but Fury dashed forward anyway, ready to attack.

She never touched him.

She had one fist reared back, aimed to nail him in the face, but he ducked, and she flew over him, rolling and landing hard. Fury growled, turning. "Why are you reading that book anyway!" She fumed as her copies puffed out of sight.

"To find out what happens in the story... of course."

Fury growled, glaring at him for a few more moments. They both held still after she helped herself to her feet, and Kakashi turned to walk again. As he did, his hand strayed to the weapons pouch on his leg. "Maybe you'll be better off with something a bit further off..." He said, deftly undoing the clips. "You have to come at me with the intent to kill, or you'll have no chance."

His weapons pouch fell off of his leg, left on the ground for her to take as he left the clearing, walking somewhere else. Fury crept up to it slowly, fearing some sort of trap, and reached to grab it while staying as far away as she could. Once she nabbed it, she scurried back, and took cover in the brush on the other side of the clearing before opening it up and looking in it.

Within the pouch were various metal objects. Throwing stars, better known as shurikin, and long diamond shaped knives with ringed hilts, known as kunai knives. Both were ideal for throwing... that is, if Fury knew how to properly throw them. Even if she did... how could she throw a bunch of sharp objects at a guy that was supposed to be her teacher?? All of these tools had a deadly edge on them...

Fury sighed, hanging her head. Half an hour had been wasted... if she got the bell, Loor wouldn't eat, and Kakashi might refuse to train her. If Loor got the bell, Fury would never be able to live it down... it was a no-win situation.

Fury tensed, coming out of her own thoughts as she heard something above her, looking and clutching the weapons pouch in one hand. She glanced about, watching the branches above her warily.

Suddenly, a blond head poked out of the green, a boy clad in orange.

"Hey..." Naruto grinned. "Want a hint?"


	17. The Sand Siblings

Five of five! Le gasp! A five-chapter update… on a Tuesday… what is the world comin' to? I don't really know, or care, for that matter.

And… GAARA FINALLY MADE IT!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Don't ask, okay? I finished this chapter in the middle of the night… so it's best you don't ask about the thing on the end either. –sweatdrop- I was being weird.

PS: The word nifty ROCKS!!!

Yes, I had caffine.

**No Ownage.**

OWTF!!!

**Markings- Chapter Seventeen  
****The Sand Siblings**

Loor sighed, slowly creeping out of her hiding place. She had no plan, but she had to keep tabs on Kakashi. The guy tended to keep walking around aimlessly, or just close enough for her to hear that stupid bell, and out of her range again. Tracking him wasn't that hard because of that bell though, and she managed to find him, standing in yet another clearing that was made by a thin river flowing through the area. The clearing was just as thin. If she came at him, and over shot, she'd get very wet.

She waited for a few moments, and was about to leap out when someone's hand landed on her shoulder.

She almost screamed, her elbow automatically driving back as she looked, glaring to find the goth boy of team seven behind her... Sasuke. "What the...?" She whispered, seeing as he had first blocked her elbow, and second that he had a knowing smirk on his face. "What are you doing here?"

"Helping you." Sasuke muttered back. "You can't take him on your own."

"Says you." She growled back. "I'm not one to take help, buddy, so you can go back to your razor."

He lost the slight smile, glaring right back. "I know better. I tried on my own, and team seven almost got dropped out of the program. Kakashi is unforgiving in his methods."

"Why are you helping me?" She growled, glaring.

Sasuke snickered. "Why did Sakura give you breakfast this morning?"

Loor stared for a few moments. "Where's Naruto?"

"Looking for Fury, and you should be too. The only way you're going to get that bell is if you two work together. That's the whole point."

"There's two ways to do everything." Loor snarled, looking back out at Kakashi. The guy had actually crouched down, looking so relaxed with his book. She felt so tempted to just shove him into the river and take the bell among the frothing water.

"Maybe if you guys were more powerful, but trust me, working together is the only way right now." Sasuke sunk back into the thicket. "Don't say I never tried."

Loor glanced back, slightly aware that they boy probably dashed out of the area, or just ran. She looked back at Kakashi, still feeling that opportunity, but let it go.

She'd have to find Fury... no matter how proud she was.

In all honesty, Fury had not been far away, and Loor mainly found the spot by Naruto attempting to make a clever exit and smacking his head on something, and thus cursing loudly. "Fury!" Loor gave the hoarse whisper. "Fury, c'mere..."

"Coming..." Fury whispered back, understanding the urgency. Once the two girls were in sight of each other, Loor did something Fury did not expect.

Loor threw herself at her little sister in a hug that screamed 'forgive me,' nuzzling and squeezing. "I'm sorry I yelled... and that I didn't listen... I should have heard you out..."

Fury had nearly been knocked over, but slowly patted Loor's back. "Uh... okay?" She snickered. "I'm chokin' here."

Loor let go, sighing. "I'm sorry though..."

Fury shrugged. "I'm used to it. I should have just kept my trap shut."

"No!" Loor somehow managed to yell and whisper at the same time. "You have full right to say what you think. I shouldn't have yelled at you. Now let's get down to this and show that Kakashi guy what we're made of!"

There was a slight pause, and then Fury grinned, holding up the weapons pouch that she had been oddly gifted. "Sharp things, anyone?"

Loor returned the grin. "Alrighty then... here's the plan."

* * *

Kakashi had moved between clearings again, actually near where they had started. Even away from the clock, he knew that there was about half an hour left on it. Not that he really cared. Between his book, which was just getting to the best parts, and his two new students who had been laying low for the past hour, he was dead to the world of time, and yet very aware that Loor was more than likely to pull another bull charging act at any time.

Speaking of...

He already knew Loor was standing in the clearing, across the way and grinning. Of course, she had a cocky posture that would have given Naruto a run for his money. At least she didn't run around saying 'believe it' after every other sentence.

"You're goin' down this time." She gave, the grin widening.

"Am I?" Kakashi asked, his eye not leaving his book. "If you had gotten it by now, you needed to take me by surprise if you wanted to take me at all."

"Not my style." Loor gave, kicking forward. Kakashi sighed, not leaving his book as he blocked what would have been a kick to his head with one hand, pushing her off and turning around quickly, dealing a harsh blow to her backside...

To have someone land on his.

He lifted his head, glancing back to see that Fury had gotten the drop on him while he was dealing with Loor!

Who came from the front again, dealing her knee into his stomach, pushing him back. Fury took an easy leave and grabbed the bell, yanking it away. Loor, with no trophy to grab that would lead to any prize, grabbed his book and backed off very quickly.

Kakashi stared at the two girls, both holding their spoils with pride. He blinked twice, and then smiled.

"Not bad... but Loor, you'll go hungry."

"No she won't." Fury intercepted. "I'm sharing, thank you very much."

Kakashi lifted himself to his feet, dusting himself off while sighing. "True. It's your lunch, you can do what you want with it..." He then put his hands on his hips, shaking his head. "By the way..." He didn't even turn his head, calling out. "Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke... you can stop hiding now."

After a few seconds, the three named people came out of the woods. Sasuke held his head high in defiance, and Naruto looked rather proud of himself. Sakura was the only one who seemed even a little embarrassed at her own behavior.

"It was Naruto's idea..." Sakura grumbled.

Kakashi snickered, turning to the three behind him. "I doubt anyone in Konoha has heard of the five man team over the usual three man squad, but it would seem that the conditions call for it at the moment."

Loor noticed that Kakashi wasn't scolding them.

"All three of you acted accordingly to comrades stuck in a less than favorable situation." Kakashi said, and then turned back to Fury and Loor. "And you two got over your little spat to bring in the end game." All five kids grinned at the praise they got, and Kakashi walked off for a moment, returning with Fury's prize for the bell and his backpack slung on his shoulder, and then walking up to Loor, holding out his hand for his book, which Loor was looking at from all angles, since she couldn't read the language it was in. With a sigh, the girl handed it over, and huffed at him.

"I don't forgive you for savin' me." She grumbled. "But... I won't say that I don't like you. You're pretty cool."

Kakashi gave a smirk through his mask. "Now then... all that leaves is my last dilemma of the day."

"What's that?" Sakura asked.

"I only have enough rope to tie up one person, and three posts."

"Huh??" Naruto gave.

"What?" Kakashi asked. "The only person that's allowed to sit and eat freely is the person who got the bell. The other part of the rules is that anyone who didn't get one got tied up, right? Well, all five of you participated. Shouldn't all five of you be vulnerable to the punishment?"

Kakashi got blank stares from all five kids.

He sighed. "Kidding... kidding..."

Loor was pretty sure everyone laughed, even Sasuke.

* * *

Loor was slightly confused.

Only slightly, but confused none of the less. After Fury had finished eating (Only Loor got tied up. Rules were rules, of course,) everyone departed to do whatever for the rest of the day. Fury had ran off to go find Kiba, Naruto and Sasuke disappeared on their lonesomes somewhere, and Loor, somehow, managed to end up taking a leisure walk around town with Sakura.

Yes, she was walking around with the pink haired wonder. Scary.

"So... Sakura, what were up with those weird ninja yesterday?" Loor asked, hooking her thumbs on her pants. "Obviously, you and Naruto lived, but they were awful testy..."

Sakura nodded. "Yeah. If you remember the symbol on their headbands, that meant they were from Suna, the village hidden in the sand. They're an allied village, so I don't know why they were all weird, but the situation didn't get far after you left."

"Lovely to know." Loor sighed. "Sorry for bailing..."

"No biggy. What happened was Sasuke showed up, and nailed that Kankuro guy right in the head with a rock." Sakura gave a big smile, saying that she was rather impressed. "It was a little rock too, but it nearly knocked him down. Kankuro was about to start a fight with Sasuke, which he would have won, of course, but this other guy stepped in... this red head with a big gourd on his back named Gaara."

"Red head..." Loor raised an eyebrow, her attention directed somewhere else. "You mean that guy with the red hair over there?"

Sakura looked over to where Loor was looking. Walking in the streets of Konoha, there was more than one person with red hair, but Loor had been correct in her assumption about the person she saw. Across the nearly empty street stood a boy who had to be twelve, maybe an early thirteen, with blood red hair and a huge gourd strapped to his back. His back was turned to Loor and Sakura, watching the two other sand nin Loor had encountered the day before as they spoke in hushed tones. Loor had stopped walking, as if to get a better look. Why did he have a big ol' gourd on his back?

"That's him..." Sakura whispered.

"You sound scared." Loor gave, her tone rather dry. "Dare I inquire?"

"He threatened to kill his own team mate! And he wasn't kidding... I don't think he could have been... Just don't mess with him, is all." Sakura hissed.

"Well, you're going the wrong way for telling me about him since he's right there. You're making it seem like he's the most horrid person you've ever laid eyes on." Loor looked over to see if their words had effected Gaara at all. Low and behold, his head had turned very slightly. "I mean, he can't be that bad."

"I don't know..." Sakura whined. "He seems dangerous..."

"He's all skin and bones. What does he do, knock people around with the gourd on his back?"

Loor's gaze couldn't help but be attracted back to the boy as his head turned enough for one icy blue eye to focus on her from a base of black... almost like ashen dead flesh around his eyes from an extreme lack of sleep, or a large amount of eye-liner. Loor wasn't going to venture a guess, staring at those eyes with a curiosity. They were cold... almost cold even to make her shiver in the summer heat.

Sakura was just as stricken by his gaze, and reached for Loor's arm to pull her back. Loor didn't move though, shaking her off, standing tall.

Temari, behind Gaara, looked a little frightened herself. "Gaara, we promised Baki sensai that we wouldn't go around killing people..."

The one ice blue orb that had locked upon Loor gave her a quick glance, up and down. "I'm not going to kill her..." His voice came after a few moments. It was oddly deep for someone his age, smooth, and breathy. He took the two steps needed to turn towards Loor, and she saw him head on. He was dressed in a black short-sleeved shirt with a netted shirt under it, along with baggy black pants that fed into white wraps that followed down to his ankles, into his shoes. The gourd was hung on a leather holster, where his Suna headband hung near his hip. Crossing his chest in the other direction was a white scarf that wrapped around his middle and flipped over, leaving a tail in his front like some strange toga meeting a loincloth.

They studied each other for several seconds, and Loor got fed up with the silence. "Hi."

Gaara didn't reply, which didn't surprise her. He didn't seem to be very friendly. Still, even if he had a very weak and bony build, he had the air of a very dangerous animal... like a starved and feral lion, forced out of its own food chain and into others. Some of this power, she knew, was an obvious bulk of chakra, which the kid had by the shit load. The rest... came from his cold eyes, which were yet to stop probing hers.

She watched as one of his hands lifted, reaching for the gourd on his back. At once, both Kankuro and Temari tensed, taking a half step forward, but no more as Gaara removed the cork from the gourd and tossed it aside.

Following it, his hands came together in a simple hand sign, the sign of the ram.

What happened after that was far from simple.

Out of the sand colored gourd came... sand. Loor was confused, but held her ground. This was a competition of fear, and she would never be the first to bend. The sand, seemingly under Gaara's will, moved through thin air in a controlled stream, flowing from the air to the ground, across the now empty street, to Loor's feet, taking up in twin streams up her body, crossing and weaving, ending in a circlet around her collar.

Loor couldn't help a gasp as these strange bounds lifted her into the air by a foot. Sakura had become dumbfounded by everything going on, and Temari and Kankuro looked completely helpless, as if they wanted to help Loor, but knew she was beyond help.

Gaara's hands dropped out of the sign, one palm going out and remaining up, fingers curling as if he were curling and orb, and then closing his fingers very slightly. At once, Loor felt her bounds constrict about the same distance, bruising her. "Frightened?" The boy asked.

To be frightened was a strange concept onto itself. One could be frightened of hundreds of different things, and most fears were self-induced. But this fear would have been a natural fear of death... a fear that Loor had lacked ever since her family was killed.

So, to the lack of such a fear, she gave him a smirk. "That's a nice trick."

"Loor!" Sakura yelped. It would seem the blond was trying to beg disaster.

Loor, of course, ignored Sakura's protest. "Is this what makes you scary?" Loor tested, looking down at the boy who held her life in his hand... quite literally. "You can crush anyone who makes a funny face at you? A powerful thing, yes..." She paused. "But you've never trained a day in your life, have you?"

His fingers, and her ribs probably, bent a tad more.

"The truth hurts, don't it?"

"What truth do you know?" Gaara growled, taking a step closer to his victim. "Assuming things five seconds after you see a person."

"Assuming?" Loor snickered. "By the reaction I'm getting, I'd say I'm right. You've been rather dependent on your sand trick, haven't you?"

His blackened eyes narrowed, a frown creasing his face. "What of it?"

"Nothing, just taking notice."

"Take notice of this." He hissed, clenching his hand further. She could feel it, the air getting forced out of her lungs, a bone on the verge of snapping.

"Gaara!" Kankuro yelled, a warning.

"What!" Loor gave, her voice sounding a little hysteric, almost crazy. "You think I care? Go ahead, kill me!"

"Don't encourage him!" Sakura pleaded.

Gaara gave Loor a strange look. "You don't even scream... Don't you fear death?"

"There are worse fates." Loor quipped back. "And... I have a vague feeling that you've suffered one of them."

Loor didn't yelp as she collided with the ground, hard, the sand flowing back to the ground, it's job left undone. A few grains straggled, bringing the cork back to Gaara's hand to secure it once more. Sakura rushed up to help Loor to her feet, but she shook the pink haired girl off again, forcing herself to stand as Gaara turned to leave, Kankuro following him. Oddly enough, Temari held up for a few seconds.

"Are you alright...?"

Loor nodded, smirking. "I've had worse." She lied.

"Most people don't live through that..." Temari commented, looking after her group. "You're either really brave, or really stupid."

"I like to go with the term 'calm.'"

"Whatever you wanna call it, not a lot of people live through a brush with my little brother." She locked eyes with Loor's, sighing and offering a hand. "Name's Temari, for what it's worth. Sorry about yesterday... but I'd be careful if I were you. I've never seen my brother leave someone alive before."

"Charming." Loor smirked, taking her hand. "I'll keep that in mind. And the name's Loor, if you care for it."

That was the second person Loor had heard that about. By the end of this, every dangerous ninja was going to have her on their 'to kill' list.

"How could you guess so many things about him so quickly...?"

"Some things are obvious to the trained eye." Loor laughed, ruefully. "It's a gift."

"Well, the dependency on the sand, that's obvious... but a fate worse than death... you were right on with that one."

"I could tell." Loor smirked. "That's why he dropped me."

"Temari!" Kankuro had come back, waving the eldest of his group over. "Let's go!"

"Coming Kankuro!" Temari yelled back, nodding. "Just be careful. He has a thing for finishing the crap he's started."

"Yeah, but he didn't start it." Loor pointed out as the elder blond turned to run. "I did."

* * *

"Hey... Gaara?"

"You should be sleeping, Temari."

"I know, I know... but... today, why did you let that girl go?"

"Because I did."

"...oh... okay."

"What? Did you expect me to say she was cute?"

"N-no! That wasn't what I was implying at all!"

"Good... I think my reason for letting go... was that she didn't fear death..."

"Yeah, you'd think she'd handled a few dangerous nin before!"

"Shut up Kankuro!"

"What, Temari, I'm not allowed to tease my little brother about trying to get laid?"

"Not if you want to keep your legs..."

"Aw, listen to that, he doesn't even deny it, the little purve!"


	18. Rain

It's a Friday, and you all know what that means… YEP!!! UPDATES!!! WHOOOOOOOOO! (Yay for caffeine.)

Well, let's get on with this. One of three, I would so believe.

**No ownage.**

OWTF!!!

**Markings- Chapter Eighteen  
****Rain**

"Guess who's goin' to the chunnin exams?"

Fury glanced up, having gotten back before Kiba, thus already undressed an all ready for bed. On her walk home, she had noticed the sky clouding up. She hated thunderstorms, so if it went to that, she wanted to be sleeping. "Uh... you?"

"Damn right, me!" Kiba seemed to be very happy, putting Akamaru down and practically flying into the room. "The whole rookie nine got recommended. Me, Shino, Hinata, Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, Ino, Choji, and Shikamaru!"

Akamaru barked, getting excited. Fury smiled, happy for him, stroking the dog. "Kabuto's team is going too... or so I heard."

Kiba snorted at the name, as if it were a sour smell funking up his good mood. Still, he was quickly taking off his coat, going to relax and settle the way he did like he had for the last month that Fury had been practically living with them. They'd talk for hours on some nights, though that made Kurenai unhappy with their sleep-deprived condition the next morning. "Oh well... gives me a chance to beat his ass. I'm lookin' forward to taking Naruto on."

Fury nodded. "So... who were the last three people you named off?"

"Huh?"

"Ino, Choji, and Shikamaru...?"

"Oh, forgot you haven't met them. Sorry." Kiba crossed his legs after yanking his shoes off, tossing them aside. "Well, Ino was the pretty girl in the academy. Long blond hair, big blue eyes, and I swear she's anorexic. Choji's just the opposite, big, beefy, and... well... yeah. And then there's Shikamaru... he's smart, but he's really lazy. Won't lift a finger unless he has to. I don't even know why he's a ninja to tell the truth."

"Oh." She gave, leaning back slightly and yawning. She was already out. The whole bell thing, though it wasn't that bad, had taken it out of her, and both herself and Loor would be meeting up with Kakashi again the next day to begin the second part of their training.

Something about climbing trees...

"Yeah." Kiba gave back, all of his energy suddenly gone with hers, which had died down when he gave distaste at Kabuto's name. He couldn't help it... he just didn't trust Kabuto. It was an animal thing. You always knew when there was a rattler in your path, and though the Kabuto guy didn't quite look like a rattler, he still had it written all over his face... 'snake.'

They both sat there, and then Kiba lifted his head as the sound of rain outside started, a simple patter. "Well... goodnight." He gave, getting up to switch the light off.

"Goodnight..." She muttered, laying down and stretching.

"Hey, Fury?"

There was a slight pause, and then the girl yawned to say she was still awake. "Yeah?"

"How much longer to you think you an' your sister are gonna be here?"

"I don't know... I don't really want to go now, but I think it's going to be left open for discussion later on, when we've gotten more training and decide how much we're gonna need if we ever do go back."

"Oh... I see..." She heard him taking a deep breath, Akamaru's claws clicking on the floor before the sound of his small body settling up against Kiba could be heard. "I was just thinking that went you left... maybe you could come back and visit every now and then... or I could come see you, if that'd be okay."

Fury winced, not quite sure how to answer him. Thank goodness, she didn't have to. Just as she opened her mouth to dig her own grave, lightening flashed through the dwelling, followed by the booming roar of thunder. Fury yelped loudly, shaking.

Oddly enough, so did Kiba.

"Y-y-you don't like 'em either...?" Fury gave, peeking her head out from under her blanket.

"Loud noises and stuff..." Kiba gave, trying to save his dignity. "Spooks me."

Another few seconds were given, the sound of wind and rain all that could be heard.

"Kiba... can I come over by you?"

"Sure."

There was a shifting of bedding as Fury grabbed her blanket and her pillow, feeling about to find Kiba waiting for her with open arms. He doubled her blanket with his, letting her settle with her back to his chest, and then taking her pillow to re-spread it with his, making sure they were both comfortable before hugging her around the middle.

He settled his chin atop her head, and then Akamaru crawled on top of the pile curling up in the slight divot between their torsos.

Fury snickered. "Dog pile."

Kiba yawned. "Akamaru can be king of the mountain for now..."

They both flinched as another bout of thunder and lightening went through, followed by them both laughing slightly. "So... do you think you'll come visit once you leave?" Kiba asked again.

"I'll try." She assured. "I'll try."

* * *

Loor had been outside when the storm broke. In all honesty, she didn't care. She liked rain, and this was a warm summer storm, not a cold fall rain. Anyway, she couldn't have taken her work inside, so she stayed where she had been for the past half hour.

Where? In the center of her usual training area with Lee. Across her lap was a green limb she had taken off of a nearby tree, thick as her wrist and just about as long as she was tall. At the time, she was peeling the bark off of it by hand, thus the reason for it being green. Once she had rid it of its bark, she used the rain and her sweater to get most of the slime off of it, followed by getting up and giving it a few good swings. It seemed lighter than her practice weapon back home, but that might have been because she was stronger.

Once she had pushed herself to her feet, she stretched with the weapon doing slow rotations in her hand, dancing around fingers that hadn't twisted a weapon like it for a month. She had to wonder why she hadn't done such a thing sooner, but didn't think on it too long.

Why? She had stopped in her stretching when she felt someone else entering the clearing. She didn't see it... she just knew. Turning quickly, she expected to see Lee, soaked, telling her to come back to the apartment before she caught her death of a cold. Instead, blazing white eyes met her blue ones.

Before her stood Neji, a smirk on his face as he watched her from the cover of the thick woods, thus keeping himself dry.

"Did you want something?" She asked over the patter of the drops. Over the last month, her and Neji had met on various occasions, but didn't speak to each other much. When words were traded, they were haughty and often only to insult. This would explain Loor's tone that carried a serious 'leave me the heck alone' vibe.

"Not at all." He answered. "I just wanted to see how the blond hopeless case was doing."

"Hopeless case?" Loor questioned, feeling her temper. This guy didn't look all that tough... aside from those eyes. She had to remember how Hinata, with eyes that were much the same, somehow saw a lunge without looking and blocked it. Neji was older than her... who knew what the byakugan could do as it aged? "What makes you say that?"

"You're still here..." He gave. "Isn't that enough? This is hardly your path. Had you chosen it a few years ago, perhaps you would have amounted to a fair shinobi... but you're a little late for it."

Loor felt one of her eyebrows lift. His smooth voice and knowing tone made her think of reading Shakespeare in school. To this joke, she lifted her thumb and bit it at him. "Better late than not at all, buddy boy. What, you want me to kick your ass too when I'm done?"

"You're training under someone who is yet to beat me." he replied. "On the other hand, destiny doesn't will his victory... nor will it yours."

"Destiny?" Loor rolled her eyes. "Buddy, you need to get a life, or kill someone and steal it."

"You don't believe in fate?" He questioned. "How foolish."

"Naw... hardly." She had taken a few steps towards him by now. "Far from foolish... as long as I believe in it."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"If you believe in something, it doesn't matter what it is, it can't be foolish. Going along with my beliefs..." She grinned. "There's a difference between knowing the path, and walking the path. Or leaving the path completely, which seems to be the option I was forced into. In that case, Destiny can screw itself up the ass with a razor laced dildo." She faked a swing at him, turning away. "Good night."

"Loor."

She turned her head, giving him the 'You're still here?' look.

"If you do intend on fighting me, do not expect me to go easy on you."

"I'd kill you if you did, Neji."

"Kill me?" He seemed amused at this threat. "How would you go about that?"

"Depends on how angry I am. Just make sure I never find out where you sleep."

There was a slight pause, and Neji turned to sink back into the woods, leaving Loor to her thoughts. That guy had some guff, calling her a hopeless case. Loor had to consider him lucky that she didn't take him apart, but the rain had that effect on her. Loor was a naturally angry person, so of course she had to have outlets here and there, things to calm her down.

The rain was one of the most effective things she had found yet.

She closed her eyes, standing in that clearing, and took her usual stance with her arms hanging down, her newly skun practice stave between them, her knees bent and ready to move in any direction. The rain pattered everywhere, and with her eyes closed, she waited for a disturbance within her own mind. All she needed was an issue within her brain to attack and defeat like she would a foe...

She felt it, and hopped forward from her stance, turning in the wet grass, her feet bare, and her stave shifting to one hand to swing, turning in a full circle and then continuing to back away. Her eyes were still closed, of course. This foe was in her mind, and was a big ugly creature there. It was her anger, her frustration, everything that would pile up on her and make her do stupid things.

_Fury's never gonna leave._ The first attack, making her jump aside, lashing with both ends of the fresh stave, her muscles faking resistance automatically. Still, she ducked a new blow that came at her, her leg going out to swipe. _She likes that Kiba boy too much already. Just look, she's gonna go and fall in love, and you're never going to be able to leave. _

**_Not true._** She batted back, moving quickly past, weapon out to the side, and then pitching back, arcing down into the spine of this creature. **_Fury is smart, and will listen to reason if presented. _**

The creature shrank slightly, turning to her and making her block. _You like that Lee kid._

**_He's my friend._**

_But you think he's cute, don't you?_

**_There's a lot of cute guys here. Just thinking a boy is cute has little to do with anything. They're just petty emotions._**

_What about Naruto, huh?_ It pulled away, attempting to attack her side, which she blocked again. _He's funny. You like funny people. _

**_He's hiding something. Every funny person is hiding a scar. I may befriend him, and attempt to heal anything I can._**

Her other side now, a steady rhythm taking place. _And what about the boy who nearly killed you today? Gaara?_

She was quickly tiring of this banter, understanding everything of her own emotions as they were laid out flat for her. She flipped her weapon in her hands, driving it forward at the jagged, pointed end that had been broken off to shorten it to the correct length. **_Five simple words; I don't believe in love._**

The creature of her mind stumbled back, wounded, and then charged back as it became Loor's size, and shape. In a second, it had become Loor, a matching weapon in hand. It shouted at her in her mind, trying to drive feeble points into her brain.

_Orochimaru is going to kill you just like he killed your family! You never stood a chance, and you still don't!_ It had charged, weapon upraised, aimed at Loor's skull.

Loor rolled onto her back, putting her feet up and catapulting it away. **_I have every chance in the world, as long as I shuck my fear away and believe I am powerful. _**

It came back, teeth in the open, as if to bite her as the weapon flashed out again, just as she was getting up, to catch her in the back; a dirty move. _What, didn't have enough of watching people die? What if he comes after Fury next time?_

She arched away from it, grabbing its weapon and pulling hard, turning on her heel to hurl it away. **_If any harm comes to Fury, it will be over my dead body. _**

The creature, which had fallen, looked like it had the strength to get up again, continue the fight, but it didn't. Loor took up a content smile as it dissipated back into her random thoughts, and finally opened her eyes, stretching and putting her practice weapon across her shoulders. The rain continued on its way around her, and she felt calm in the sound of it, without a care in the world.

"Wow."

Loor's sodden head turned to see that she was no longer alone in the rain. Pushing her wet hair out of the way, she saw Lee standing there, a slight smile on his face. It was a smug 'I'm very proud of myself right now' type of smile. "Evening." She greeted, the serene smile keeping on her face, almost taking a dreamy quality.

"You are going to get sick out here." He gave, walking into the clearing. He didn't seem to care that he was getting wet.

She shrugged, looking up. "No... the rain's too warm for that. I have to take advantage of the warm weather, you know. I have issues training when it's cold, cause even just wearing a T shirt drives me crazy because I have issues moving."

"What were you doing?" He asked.

She smiled, turning to walk out of the clearing, past him, motioning him along. "Just getting some things off of my mind. You could say that I... 'fight off' my anger and frustration. It keeps me from doing stupid things in the immediate future." She glanced back to make sure he was following, which he was. "So, Lee, what do you do... when you have a lot on your mind?"

"Me?" He shrugged slightly. "I'm almost always training... it tends to keep your mind in order, all the exercise and such. The only times that I become overwhelmed is when I take Neji on... and lose."

"Don't like defeat, huh?" She nudged him. "That guy needs to get his head on straight. What's with all that destiny crap anyway?"

"Neji's life has not treated him well... but it is not my place to say."

"I see..." Loor sighed, shrugging. "So, what do you look so smug about?"

"The chunnin exams." Lee gave.

"Heh, your team got put in?"

"Yes." Lee nodded, smiling. "Gai waited an extra year to enter my team, so this will be my first time attempting... I do not want to let Gai sensai down."

"I doubt you will. Just wondering though, what do you have to do in order to enter that thing?"

"To enter the chunnin exams, you have to be part of a team that has been through eight missions or more, and be recommended by your sensai. In order to participate, your whole team must agree to enter."

"Damn it." Loor sighed. "It sounded like fun."

"Fun?" Lee questioned. "People die during those exams."

She smirked, her eyes looking on as they left the woods behind, saying no more. She wouldn't bother explaining her interest to anyone. No one understood half the shit she did anyway. They were walking for a few moments more, and then turned onto a street, towards Lee's apartment.

Loor, for once, actually went to sleep before midnight. She'd need a full night's sleep if she was going to figure out a way into the chunnins... without a team.

* * *

"Lord Orochimaru."

"Kabuto... I will assume things are going as planned?"

"Yes. Sasuke will be entering... and it seems the girls will be staying for at least that long."

"Good. And how are our girls?"

"Fury's getting stronger, as is Loor... though I'm not sure if they'll--"

"No matter. If they die in that process, it would have made no difference if we killed them ourselves."

"Loor seems rather interested in the chunnin exams."

"Attracted to power... of course. And of course... she'd never be allowed in on her own."

"She's attracted to danger more than she is power."

"Yes. Perhaps... you should interest her into sneaking into the forest during the exams."

"She doesn't trust me."

"You'll figure out something, Kabuto. I'm sure of that. You know how I don't like to be disappointed."

"... yes, Lord Orochimaru. As you wish."

"Very good. And Suna's weapons are also within the village... everything is coming into place."

"One of those _weapons_ nearly killed Loor today, the youngest."

"Hmm... Gaara does tend to be a loose cannon of sorts. I doubt you can do anything about that, Kabuto, unless you wanted to get yourself killed. Aside from that, I believe you know what you're doing now."

"Yes, Lord Orochimaru... completely."


	19. Tree Climbing

Two of three….

**No ownage.**

OWTF!!!

**Markings- Chapter Nineteen  
****Tree Climbing**

"Well, well, well, what have we here?"

Fury didn't move as she heard a voice asking this question; she just cracked one eye open. This eye registered a foot, and that foot led up to a person.

Seeing this person made Fury realize that Kiba was still hugging her around the middle, the way they had fallen asleep last night, and the blanket was over both of them. What person would make Fury notice this in such a hurry?

Hana, Kiba's elder sister.

The girl was still dressed in a night robe, probably coming in to check on her little brother. She had brown hair, yanked back into a low pony, and the same red tattoos on her face that everyone else in the family had; two red upside down triangles.

The smirk on her face just screamed 'black mail.'

"Fury, stay right there, I need a camera." Hana gave, turning on her heel.

Fury, naturally, attempted to move, as not to be caught up in a cruel joke, but found of that Kiba had taken a death grip upon her that only got tighter when she tried to move. "Uh... Hana? Hana!" She gave, trying to whisper and shout at the same time. Akamaru had been woken up by Fury's movement, and rolled off of the pile to lick Fury's defenseless face.

Hana returned, a camera in hand, to see this, and nearly burst out laughing. "Too good to pass up, Fury. Sorry."

Fury winced as Hana snapped the picture, the bright flash causing Kiba to wake up with a start, sitting up quickly, his grip around Fury's middle tightening, relaxing at the sight of his sister, and tightening again at the sight of the camera. "Hana!" He yelped as the elder sibling quickly darted out of the room.

"Um... Kiba... choking, not breathing." Fury gave, feeling her ribs getting squished.

"Oh, sorry." He chuckled nervously, letting go of her and getting up to got dressed. Fury crawled over to her own pile for the same reasons, pulling on her shirt and then stretching. It was bright and early, of course, and Fury had to go meet Loor for their first bout of training with Kakashi's team. She really hoped there wasn't any more diabolical torture like that stupid bell exercise, but wouldn't doubt it with Kakashi's odd sense of humor.

"I wonder what Hana is gonna do with that picture..." Fury gave after several moments.

Kiba gave a heavy, slightly peeved, sigh. "You don't want to know."

Akamaru, who was yet to get a morning scratch, was whining at Fury, making with the big puppy eyes, which were rewarded quickly. She contented herself with petting the dog, not asking as she quickly got dressed and got up. "Well... um... I'll see you later..."

He gave her a look, seeming confused. "Huh?"

"I have training with Kakashi's team." She said slowly. "Oh, sorry! I forgot to tell you yesterday..." She sighed, embarrassed.

"It's cool. You might want a bit more than that T-shirt though. It's probably a little chilly from the rain last night." He glanced about, and then got a grin, taking his coat off and offering it to her. "Here, take it."

She looked at the coat. "Oh, Kiba, I couldn't--"

"I'll live one day without it. Now put it on before you get sick. It's probably still drizzling out there."

Slowly, Fury took the jacket and put it on. It was warm and fuzzy, and Akamaru barked as if to say it looked nice on her. It was several sizes too big, but she didn't care. "...Thank you."

He smirked. "Heh... I can't smell you anymore."

"Huh?"

Kiba grinned. "Call it selective breeding, or whatever, but I've got a strong sense of smell by extra chakra in my nose. I can smell anyone coming from miles away, and know who they are, but I can't smell myself. Going along with that, if you're wearing something of mine, I'll have trouble tracking you. Akamaru's natural sense still beats me out, but I'm pretty proud of it." He snickered. "So, wearing that coat, you could sneak up on me and I might not even know."

She giggled. "I'll have to remember that."

"Why?" He asked, cocking his head.

"Just in case I ever wanna run away." She teased. With that, she leaned down to give him a quick hug. "_Sayonara!"_ She said, waving and quickly getting on her way. As Kiba had predicted, there was a thin mist still coming down from the overcast sky, and Fury pulled the hood up and shoved her hands into the pockets of the coat. It wasn't that cold, but she didn't feel like getting wet.

Along the way, Fury ran into Sakura.

"Hey, Sakura!" Fury gave, waving, running up. The pink haired girl glanced over, and then cracked a smile in return, also waving.

"Hi Fury. Did you sleep well?"

Fury laughed lightly. "Through that thunderstorm? Yeah... I managed."

"Sorry if I'm being rude... but isn't that Kiba's coat?"

Fury felt a light blush dusting her cheeks. "Yeah... he borrowed it to me because of the rain... I get sick really easy."

"Oh, that was nice of him." Sakura giggled. "It's just strange seeing that coat without a dog in the hood."

"I guess... these days, I'd wager to say Akamaru has been shedding more fur on my shirt than he has Kiba's coat in the recent month, since I like to hold him and pet him so much."

"You two are really cute..." Sakura gave, but she trailed off, shaking her head slightly, casting a few drops of water that had collected on her hair. "I mean, you really are nice to each other, and that's nice to see, y'know?"

Fury felt that blush strengthen. "Well... uh... yeah... I guess so." She went to change the subject. "So, what are we doing today?"

Sakura smiled. "Climbing trees, like Kakashi sensai said yesterday."

"Yeah, but he said it with a tone I don't trust. I have enough issues climbing trees that I've been climbing for a year."

"You'll see." Sakura teased. "Ya see, there's three days left before the chunnins start, and for those three days, you and your sister are going to train with me, Naruto, and Sasuke. After that, we'll be gone for the exams, and I have no idea how long that takes, and then we'll come back and pick it up again... I think. Kakashi's been talking like he's going to take over after that."

"So we're training with you today?"

"That's right." Sakura grinned. "And then Naruto will pick it up tomorrow, and Sasuke will finish it."

"So, I take it you're going for it?"

"Going for what?"

"The chunnins." Fury said with a dry tone.

"Oh, right!" Sakura laughed slightly. "Of course I'm going. Naruto and Sasuke would kill each other if it were just them going, and I don't expect Naruto not to walk off a random cliff without me around."

"He does seem the type..." Fury agreed.

"He does, doesn't he? And he's _so_ annoying! Hokage this, and he's gonna beat Sasuke that! Like anyone could ever beat Sasuke, and how does a blond knuckle head become Hokage?"

"You really like that Sasuke kid, don't you?"

"Of course I do! Sasuke's so cool, and cute, and strong, and--"

"Loor would kill you if she was hearing this."

Sakura's eyes broke out of the hearts that practically sparkled in them while thinking about all of Sasuke's good qualities. She glanced at Fury. "Why?"

"Simple... Loor doesn't like it when people fawn over a guy without _doing_ anything. Heck, she doesn't like romance at all these days."

"Why wouldn't she like romance? Everyone gets crushes... right?"

"She'll never admit to it. I never got it either, but she always shoots me this glare every time I'm talking about the new boy I like and stuff like that."

"Hey, that's mean! You have full right to like guys, even if she doesn't!"

"I know... but I don't wanna make her angry. Not to mention she's so protective of me. I'm surprised Kiba didn't get frightened off by Loor's threats."

Sakura stared at her for a moment before getting a sly smile. "So, you like Kiba, don't you?"

Fury yelped. "Don't say it so loud!!"

"The coat makes it a little obvious." Sakura giggled. "But no biggy. I'll never tell." She put a finger over her lips, as if to enforce this fact.

Fury nodded slowly. Well, at least she had someone to talk about it with now. Loor would blow a gasket if she found out Fury actually liked a boy from around here. Loor could deal at home... but here? Loor would have a huge rant on how they couldn't get attached and crap like that.

On the other hand... Loor would be kinda right in that rant. If they left, getting attached would be the last thing she'd wanna do.

* * *

Loor had left her coat at Lee's apartment, seeing as it was still thoroughly wet from the night before. Instead, she just went without a shirt, ignoring the cool mist on her skin as she walked quickly through Konoha's quiet morning streets. There were a few people here and there, but Loor's mind was hardly on them. No, her mind was hard at work at how she was going to weasel her way into the chunnin exams without being part of a team. Obviously, she'd have to dodge all officials, but she'd never had a problem with that before... but after Kakashi talking about how dangerous they were, she was sincerely interested in whatever this danger was. Facing it would be a way of proving herself.

It made the muscles in her shoulders knot with excitement.

Moving quickly, she hardly noticed when she started walking along side someone with the same brisk stride, that he was going somewhere and didn't want anyone bothering him as he went to that location. Loor only noticed when they took three of the same turns.

She glanced to her side to see the raven-haired boy of team seven; Sasuke.

"Holy-" She gave a slight start. "Good morning." She snorted, her voice questioning why he hadn't at least said hello.

Sasuke gave her a glance, like the way he had sized her up when she met team seven, and shrugged her presence off. "...Morning." His monotone voice said, though he might have just said nothing.

Loor ignored the emo as she continued on her way, but it was his way too, since they were training with the same sensai. After a few moments, she had to try some sort of conversation.

Loor, being Loor, was blunt.

"What's eating you?"

He gave her a glance, obsidian eyes gifting no emotion. "Nothing." He snorted, looking ahead, jamming his hands into his pockets.

Loor noticed he had slowed slightly, the walk becoming a normal pace.

"Bull shit." She gave with ease, swearing hardly a novelty to her as it was to Fury. "You look pissed."

"Maybe I'm just annoyed." He gave back. "Ever think of that?"

"People don't wake up in the morning annoyed at the world. Generally, they might wake up angry, but it takes some morning experience to annoy someone." She cracked a sly smirk. "So, what's on your mind, monkey butt?"

Sasuke's eyes questioned her use of language on both ends of her speech. "Monkey what...?"

She shrugged. "I was shooting for a smile, but at least you stopped glaring. C'mon, did someone die? What'd I miss?"

He sighed, looking ahead again. She watched as his face had closed slightly. Apparently, someone had died, or something else along those lines.

"Tough crowd..." She muttered, looking forward.

"You act like Naruto."

Holy crap, conversation without prodding. What did she do right? Or wrong, for that matter?

"Heh, and I thought everyone would just comment that I look like him." She brought her smile back, though it was more of a listener's smirk, inviting trust with a humorous passage. "What of it?"

"You don't know when to quit..." He smirked. "That's annoying."

She rolled her eyes, giving him a punch in the shoulder. "Live with it. Seriously man, what's got you all strung out? I've met a few emo jerks in my life, but you beat 'em all out."

"I doubt any of them had any real problems."

"Well, yeah, that's why we call 'em emo where I'm from. It means they're just posers with no real problems who sit around, listen to death metal, and try to cut themselves with the blunt end of a protractor." She raised one eyebrow. "They piss me off, which might explain why you irk me. I mean, seriously, shit happens. What don't kill ya makes you stronger, and if you can't move on and have to wear your issues out on your sleeves, there's something really wrong."

"What...?"

"Dude, you like it when people leave you alone, don't you?" She sounded testy now.

"Yes." He gave, glaring back. "Of course."

"Then stop acting so monotone about every little asinine thing. Guess what, everyone loves the guy with issues! If you want people to leave you alone, don't act like you have one up on them."

"What the hell would you know about it?" Sasuke gave, becoming the testy one. "I doubt you've ever had any big problems in your life."

She smirked. "Yeah, and that doubt would be my point."

She started jogging, leaving Sasuke behind to mull over that point she had just made. She wondered if he would even get it. If he really had issues, he would, and maybe he'd lighten up a little bit. She had no idea, but if he was some emo poser, he wouldn't have a clue.

Five seconds later, Sasuke ran past her, handing out a competitive look.

Well, that answered that question. Grinning, she took the challenge and dashed up behind him.

She lost, of course, but there would be plenty of time for rematches in the future.

* * *

"Alright." Sakura said, taking charge as Kakashi, Naruto, and Sasuke went across the clearing for sparring. She stood with Loor and Fury, a smile on her face. "Kakashi wants you guys to be learning what we learned while we were away, which is chakra control. Tomorrow, you'll get some basic jutsu work with Naruto, and Sasuke will give you both a jutsu to practice."

Fury was grinning, but Loor was grousing in the back of her mind. With taijutsu, she had managed to avoid using chakra besides dashing, and now they were returning to her worst subject. It was like having a math test that you didn't study for. "So... whadda we do?" Loor finally asked.

"We climb trees."

"...Eh?" Fury asked.

Sakura smirked. "Like this."

Loor watched as Sakura turned away from her two charges towards the smooth trunk of a tree that was at the edge of the clearing. There were no branches for several feet up, but Sakura seemed to be ignoring that fact as she made a hand sign. Loor could feel her getting a very slight build, and then moving it... to her feet. She dropped the sign, and started walking towards the tree.

Both Fury and Loor gasped as she lifted one foot onto the trunk, and kept walking _up_ the side of the tree as if she were simply strolling on the ground.

"What the crap...?" Loor gave, feeling like she was out of her league again.

Sakura turned, several feet up, to grin down at them. Her hair nearly covered her face when she turned, and she trained it to one side. "It's very simple. Just focus your chakra, and then move it to your feet. You have to pin it there, and it's one of the hardest places to push it, but once you got it it'll allow your feet to stick. It's all about control though. If you use too much, you'll put too much force on the tree and cause bits of it to break. Not enough, and you'll fall off."

Loor stared for a few seconds more, as her mind argued with the fact that Sakura was still standing on the side of a tree, but then shook her head. It sounded simple...

Fury grinned. "Alright!" She gave, putting her hands together. Loor, beside her, could feel Fury's inner fire, and then watched as the girl put her hands aside and walked towards the tree...

Fury started giggling as she made it three steps up, only to lose her focus and fall on her ass because she was laughing too hard.

Loor sighed, looking at the three she had in front of her, and making a point of brining up her energy without the hand sign. She felt it, the fire, and pushed it down to her feet. At first, it didn't want to go there, but she pushed harder and began to walk, taking a leap onto the tree.

She gave a slight laugh as she stuck, but then felt the snap under her feet.

She had pushed too hard, and fell back as she let go of her energy, looking back at the crater that had been left on the tree.

"You know, that's cool in the weirdest way." Loor muttered.

Fury snickered, and Sakura smiled. The pink haired wonder reached into a weapons pouch on her leg and brought out a sharp kunai knife, walking a bit further up her own tree, and then leaping over to Fury's, and then to Loor's, leaving slices in the wood about twenty five feet up.

"When you reach those marks, you're done for today."

Twenty-five feet suddenly seemed like two hundred.

"Hey," Fury said, giving a giggle. "Look at the bright side. At least she didn't put bells up there."

Loor's gaze turned upon her sister, and she sighed. "At least..." She muttered. "At the very least."


	20. Idiocy

Three of three, and you might see another update if I finish more chapters during the weekend. Maybe.

**No ownage.**

OWTF!!!

**Markings- Chapter Twenty  
****Idiocy**

"Want help?"

"No, damn it."

_"Onee-san,_ You're gonna be here all day."

"Then I'll be here all day! I'm gonna get it on my own."

Fury sighed, sitting on a tree branch that was above the slice in her tree, having conquered the feat of reaching it in a matter of half an hour. Loor's tree, on the other hand, was full of mini-craters. Continuously, the elder sister had used too much chakra, and she'd hardly take time to breathe once she fell down. Sakura, all the while, stood dutifully to watch from a tree branch near Fury's; hanging upside down in the same fashion that one would walk on the tree.

Sakura snickered at Loor. "You and that attitude again. That's what got you in trouble yesterday!"

"Trouble?" Fury asked, her voice hardly overcoming Loor's continuous cursing as the blond fell once more. "What happened yesterday?"

"Loor didn't tell you?" Sakura seemed surprised. "She nearly got herself killed by one of the visiting sand nin."

"Loor!" Fury crowed, her gaze switching down to her sister, who was making a new run at the tree, which was going to fall over if it took much more damage. "What did you do???"

"I said hello, so what?!" Loor snapped, falling down again, swearing. "And he gives me this look and uses some funky sand control thingy to nearly break all my ribs. I survived."

"I thought those bruises were from training!" Fury seemed rather frantic. He bruises on Loor's sides were ugly looking ones, almost a strange color of green against her sun-baked hide. "You shouldn't go around pissing people off!"

"Yeah, and you shouldn't be getting attached, so what?!"

This conversation silenced as Loor sighed, standing a few feet from the three and using the hand sign to concentrate.

"Focus on the tree, and calm down." Sakura advised.

Loor only took half of that advice, the focus part. She focused everything on the tree, brining up a frustrated roaring blaze in her chest. She was going to get this if it killed her!!

"Holy crap! Loor!"

Loor opened one eye to see that the shards of bark at the edges of her little craters were aflame. Yeah, actually on fire. "Whoa! I didn't know you could do that!!"

Sakura glanced at the tree. "You shouldn't..." She then looked at Loor. "Oh, gods, you're making the wrong sign!" The pink haired wonder jumped down, landing lightly and walking over to Loor. "That's the tiger sign, no wonder you haven't been getting anywhere."

Loor glanced at her hand sign. "It is...?" She questioned, lifting it and raising an eyebrow. Sakura corrected it, and Loor snorted. "Ain't much different from the ram sign." It was true. The only difference between ram and tiger was that the pinky and ring finger were interlocked for tiger, and simply clasped together for ram.

"The tiger sign is used for dangerous jutsu, and uses a lot of chakra." Sakura gave, as if scolding. "You don't want to be using it just yet."

Loor sighed, rolling her eyes. "Gotcha. Can I get back to work here?"

Sakura backed off, glancing up at Fury, who nodded.

"Yeah, she's always like that."

Sakura dismissed Fury after a while, hanging around as Loor slowly got a hang of climbing the tree. Her craters became less frequent, and the feeble distance of five feet off the ground slowly grew to ten, and then fifteen by the next hour.

It was almost noon by the time Loor had finally managed to make the mark. By that time, everyone else had left, but Sakura had hung around. Once Loor had her victory dance over it, and thus losing her concentration and falling onto her ass once more, she and Sakura went back into the main of Konoha and separated ways.

The mist of the morning had broken into sunlight about an hour ago, and the heat felt good on Loor's skin. She walked slowly through Konoha, not quite where to start on her own agenda.

The first part was actually finding the place that she needed to check out. The chunnins were only three days away, which didn't leave her with a whole lot of time to be figuring things out. It wasn't like the answer was going to drop right into her lap, or come and tap her on the shoulder.

"Loor."

Loor knew that voice. She didn't like it, but she knew it. Still, she tried for a smile as she turned to face the silver haired boy behind her.

"Kabuto." She greeted. Kabuto, for that was who it was, bore a book in his hands, and looked surprised to be seeing her.

She noticed the surprised was directed at her ribs.

"What happened to you?" He asked.

"Just rubbed a sand nin the wrong way." She said with a shrug. "What are ya reading?"

Kabuto glanced down at his book for a second, and then smiled lightly, seeming a little embarrassed. He came up to walk with Loor, to talk with her. "There's something wrong with a section of the fence that surrounds the Forest of Death... Anko, one of the instructors for the chunnin exams, would usually handle it, but she's busy with other things, so I volunteered to help out."

"Forest of Death, huh?" Loor asked. "What's that?"

"Second stage of the chunnin exams, and probably the most dangerous." He answered, glancing back down at his book. "The whole fence is supposed to have electricity running through it, to keep things in and people out, but one of the sections has gone shoddy. I doubt we'll have it running again in time for the chunnins though..." He sighed.

Okay, maybe the answer _was_ going to drop into her lap.

"Hey, why don't we take a look at it?" She asked, pouncing upon opportunity.

"What?" He seemed confused.

"Well, it's kinda hard to figure out what's wrong with something when it's not in front of you, and an extra set of eyes helps. Let's go check it out."

He gave her a long look, but she didn't twitch under this examination. Finally, he gave a smile. "Yeah, you're right. C'mon."

Kabuto turned on his heel, and Loor followed as they headed back towards the woods, and quite a ways in along beaten paths. Far from the main of Konoha, they came upon a huge clearing that circled an equally huge and thick forest section.

Also circling this huge forest was a very tall fence. It had warning signs of electricity and barbed wire on the top to keep people from climbing over. The fence went to either side as far as the eye could see, only a slight curve to it, suggesting that it ended sooner or later down the line.

Kabuto turned to the left, counting off gates in the fence as he passed them, glancing between it and his book, which had a diagram of the place.

"Here we are..." Kabuto gave, glancing up and stopping. "Gate twenty two."

Gate twenty-two was nothing special. It looked like a big tall gate for a big tall chain link fence. Kabuto walked up, putting a hand on it to prove that there was no current running through it.

"Hold up, if there's current running through the other gates, why isn't there any running through this one?" Loor asked. She knew a thing or two about electricity.

"Each gate and the fence around it has it's own power source and is, insulation wise, separated from the other gates around it. That way, if there's an electrical problem, it's isolated." He answered this quickly, going back and forth from inspecting the fence to looking at his book. "The main carrier for the power is laced through the barbed wire on top... so there must be a break in it or something, or some digging animal chewed through the underground cord that brings it power."

"Well, if the wire's faulty, you should take down the section and replace it." She advised. "How long has this stuff been out here? For all you know, it could have rotted."

"And what if the power supply is what's been cut off?" He questioned, looking at her.

"Then replacing the wire won't work. The chunnins are really close, aren't they? Best to go for the fastest solution, and if it's wrong, it can be handled later. I doubt one faulty gate is going to make a huge difference in the grand scheme of things."

"True..." He nodded, sighing. "I'll have to get someone out here to take this wire down, but we might not have a new one for a few days."

Loor tried to contain her glee. This just kept getting better and better.

"What makes this place so dangerous anyway?" She asked, walking up and lasing her fingers through the links. She was thinking about how easy it would be to climb.

"The creatures inside, and how easily you can become lost. In the center, there is a tower, which is everyone's goal during the exercise." He went to explain. "The teams that made it through the first round come to the Forest of Death and are issued a scroll, one per team, either labeled 'Heaven' or 'Earth.' The point is to make it to the center tower with one of both, by way of stealing it from another team, thus forcing them out of the running. It cuts the candidates in half for the final rounds."

"Those being?"

"One on one combat." He answered. "Sometimes, you might end up fighting your own team mate, and sometimes... to the death. It's all picked at random."

Loor couldn't help a grin. Sounded like her kind of contest.

* * *

"What's eating you?"

Fury glanced up at Kiba, whom she was spending lunch with. She had given his coat back, now that the sun was out, and had been staring into her ramen since they had gotten to Ichiraku's. "Huh...?" She asked.

"You seem so glum." He said. "What's up?"

"Worried about Loor..." She sighed, mixing her noodles with her chop sticks. "She was still having trouble when I left, and then this thing about her nearly getting herself killed..." She shifted in her seat. "It makes me worry, is all. She's my big sister, and she's gonna get into trouble."

"Yeah, maybe it'll do her good to get her ass smoked."

"Have you seen the bruises on her ribs? She hasn't been smoked, she was burned, and yet she's still playing with fire!" She snorted. "It makes me just a little angry when I think about all the crap she gets pissed at me for doing, and then her running around like she had a death wish." She snapped the tips of her chopsticks together. "Just watch, she's gonna go and pull one of those little operations of hers and sneak into the most dangerous part of the chunnin exams and leave me behind to fret and wonder if I should turn her in or wait for the authorities bring back her corpse!"

"Sounds like you have to be the big sister every now and then."

"Only when she refuses to face her own emotions." She slurped some noodles, hardly chewing and quickly swallowing. "You should have seen her with her last infatuation. She wouldn't even call it a crush, but she was crushing hard, and every time someone asked she'd just snort and go 'They're just petty emotions, and they're stupid.' It gets on my nerves!"

Kiba laughed quietly at her, patting her back. "Take it easy, you're gonna choke."

Fury seemed not to hear him. "I can just see it, y'know. She's gonna go and get herself hurt, hospitalized, and who's gonna be left all by themselves?"

"...you?"

"Me!" She slammed her fist on the bar. "She's supposed to be all smart and leader like, but she can be _so stupid!" _

Kiba watched as she huffed, and then rubbed her shoulder. "You done now...?"

"I think..." She gave, wolfing into her food.

"Y'know... if you get so angry with her, why don't you say something?"

"Don't you think I have?" Fury growled, but then backed off, taking enough time to swallow the mouthful she had spoken with. "Sorry... that must have sounded rude."

"See, there's your problem, front and center. If you're mad at her, you have to tell her, not matter how rude it sounds. If there's something on your mind, you have to say it, or it'll just bother the hell out of you."

"If I say something, it'll bite me in the rear."

"Yeah, so what? I'll tell you somethin' Fury, I've been bit in the ass a lot of times, but I can still sit."

Fury nodded, sighing again, picking at the noodles that were still in her bowl.

Talking to Loor would be scary, but the concept of Loor getting herself hurt, or worse, killed, was down right terrifying.

* * *

Loor was being an idiot, _again, _damn her curiosity. The situation was a simple one, at the least. She had been walking by herself, not spending any more time with Kabuto than she had to, on her way back to the main of Konoha when the oddest thought in the world struck her head.

She was going over yesterday's events, mainly that Gaara kid, when she remembered something that she hadn't initially noticed; The kid had a funny red tattoo on his head. Yeah, on the left side of his forehead, there was some mark that looked like Japanese kanji, and Loor had no clue what it meant.

This cluelessness led to curiosity, and then to one of the dumbest ideas in the book. Loor couldn't see herself getting an answer without a death threat if she directly asked the guy what his forehead said, but she had the odd idea of following him around long enough to sketch the symbol and then show it to Fury. Fury understood a fair bit of kanji, and might be able to tell Loor what it meant.

As you've all guessed by now, following a homicidal twelve year old is never a good idea. Oddly enough, this did not register with Loor's brain.

Of course it didn't.

And so it was, Loor was running around Konoha with a piece of paper and a pencil that she had nabbed from Lee's apartment, seeing as the kid had a few bits of stationary lying around. The first part was finding the kid, wherever he was. As far as Loor could tell, he liked his privacy, so it was best to do this from afar, lest she wanted to remind her ribs that it was still hard to breathe.

She wouldn't put it past the kid to be roof hopping, so she was looking everywhere as she moved about the many streets of the village. Konoha was so big, and just as she was sure she was going in circles, she found him.

Gaara stood by himself, in a narrow back street, seeming to stare at a random section of wall. His eyes were dead, as if he were deep in his mind instead of on the surface. The lights were on, but no one was at the wheel.

God, Loor just kept getting lucky, didn't she? She hid behind the corner she had nearly turned, hoping not to disturb him as she took a look at the tattoo on his forehead. Thank goodness, his left side was facing her, another stroke of luck. Putting the paper up on the wall of the building she was next to, she readied her pencil, and began to sketch out the mark on his forehead.

It was so hard to see from far away... she was tempted to try and move closer, seeing as he _was_ kinda brain dead at the moment, but didn't want to test her luck that much. It wasn't that she was scared, but she felt all secret agent-ish when she was doing stuff like this. Or spy ninja. Or whatever.

She had been leaning out from her cover and then sinking back behind it while sketching the tattoo from the top down, and was only half down when she stuck half her head out to see that Gaara had woken up, turned away from her, and was walking.

Great... tracking.

Loor used her new tree-climbing ability and applied it to the wall she was standing by, quickly moving to the safety of the rooftop in order to continue this strange obsessive shadowing. She could watch from above, as Gaara turned the corner back into the main streets, reached a four-way intersection, and then turned again in the same direction.

He was walking in circles.

Loor didn't question it, just following and waiting for him to stop long enough for her to pull her pencil out again and finish the half done sketch. It was several rounds later that he did stop, and she grinned, sitting down and looking down at her paper to make sure she wouldn't put any random marks on it.

When she looked up, he was gone.

"Why are you following me?"

Loor froze. The homicidal twelve year old was behind her.


	21. Her Eyes Are Blue

Yeah, yeah, I know I'm one day early. I had time before school, all right? Four updates and time are a good mix, wouldn't you say?

So, let us get on with this. Muhahahah…

**No ownage.**

OWTF!!!

**Markings- Chapter Twenty One  
****Her Eyes Are Blue**

Within one simple second, about five thousand thoughts shot through Loor's brain. It was part of being a deception artiest, you had to know how to think fast, come up with a plausible excuse, and leave as fast as you could as not to dig yourself a hole in case you ever expected to be speaking to the same person in the future. Still, at being caught, she felt an adrenaline rush along with her underarms admitting sweat.

She lived for this feeling.

Rather easily, Loor turned her head to make sure that it was Gaara who was standing behind her. It was. He stood there, almost glaring down at her, arms crossed over his chest.

"I didn't want to bother you." Where the words that worked onto Loor's lips out of the many hundred things she could have said.

Gaara stared at her for a few moments more, and she got to her feet, standing an inch taller than him, seeing as she _was_ a little older. Perhaps half a year, Loor pondered in her brain while still studying his features. He wasn't intimidated, obviously. He just followed her with those two icy eyes.

"I've been dodging people who have been trying to kill me for six years... you think I wouldn't notice you following me?" He asked, monotone.

Loor felt one hip move to the side, resting her weight on one leg as she put the other hand on the out thrust hip. "Well," She gave, "I wouldn't know that people have been trying to kill you, since I've hardly said more than twenty words to you, and I think you didn't even say more than ten to me yesterday, so you can't blame me for trying to be covert."

"Words become unnecessary." He said, simply, though it almost seemed to be a defense. "So you were hiding. Are you sure you're not scared?"

Loor snorted. "I'm quite sure about that, buddy boy. If you want to scare _me, _you're going to have to find something I'm scared of. Death isn't very high on my list of fears."

"But why were you following me?" He asked, glare becoming a little more harsh, as if he were contemplating killing her anyway. "What are you drawing?"

"Like I said, I didn't want to bother you, but..." She trailed, slightly embarrassed. "I couldn't understand the tattoo on your forehead, so I planned on drawing it out and asking a friend of mine who understands the language."

He lifted one hand from his crossed arms, holding it out, as if to see the proof of what she had been doing. He didn't trust her, but she was just fine with handing over the half done sketch. His ice blue eyes flashed over it from the dark flesh around his eyes. At close range, it was clear that it wasn't eyeliner, which meant this kid didn't sleep much. Strange, he seemed pretty awake for how dark his eyes were.

"It's not a tattoo." He gave, handing the paper back. "It's a scar."

Loor took a look at the mark on his forehead. Sure enough, once at close range, it was easy to tell it wasn't ink. That mark was actually cut _into_ his forehead... and a little bit of the bone underneath by the looks of it. "Holy crap..." She gave, quietly, automatically reaching up to touch it and feel the scar tissue herself.

Her hand, mere inches away, was caught by the sand, which had pushed the cork out of the gourd on its own to block her. Gaara looked just a little... surprised that she had tried to touch him. He had actually taken a step back.

She stared at the sand encasing her hand, as if she didn't get it, and looked at him. "I wasn't going to hurt you."

"Then what were you going to do?" He questioned, some of the smooth demeanor slipping away. He was either going to go into a killing rage or throw her off of the building, breaking her wrist in the process, or both. He stood straight, lifting a hand, clutching his fingers again, the sand threatening to break her hand... obliterate the appendage.

"I just wanted to touch the scar, dang it!" She snarled. "You never told me what it meant anyway!"

He stared at her for several moments. He didn't seem to understand this strange urge of hers, or why she was even there. Or why he hadn't killed her the day before. She wasn't frightened, obviously. She looked angry, but that was just at having her hand trapped. Besides that, she didn't even try to struggle.

Something within Gaara was curious, even if something else was informing him that he should have killed the troublesome girl the second he saw her. He wrestled with himself for a few moments, deciding that he'd satisfy his curiosity, and then kill her.

He took two steps closer, nearly nose-to-nose, and released her hand.

"It means 'Ai', or 'Love.'" He then bent his head to the side, bowing it, as not to look at her, offering up the scar, almost. "Go ahead."

That was shocking. What was he playing at? Still, Loor couldn't refuse and open invitation. Slowly, she lifted the hand that had just been let go, which was looking a lot like her ribs, and allowed her fingers to trail upon the scar. She could feel the grooves of the permanently damaged skin, and the smooth of the undamaged. The scar had been made with pinpoint accessory, as if it was done after planning... and with that sand, perhaps self-inflicted.

Gaara's eyes, out of her sight, had widened with shock. He didn't remember the last time someone touched him... in any manner. They never got that close. Usually, they were all trying to kill him, or running away.

Was this girl insane? He shook himself slightly, yanking away. She stood there, staring at him, and then putting her hand down.

He struggled with himself. She stood there, so simply. And, just as simply, he would be able to kill her in an instant, like he had planned.

But her touch still tingled on his forehead.

He put his cold demeanor back up. "Leave." He commanded.

She watched him, at the eyes, for just a moment more, and then smirked, doing a two-fingered salute. "See ya around, buddy boy."

She turned, and kicked off of the roof to get onto the streets and walk away. Gaara noticed that. She walked, calmly. She didn't run.

She didn't run.

"Holy shit, Gaara."

The boy addressed whipped his head around to see that his brother wasn't far away. Kankuro was on the ground, but the building was short, so he had seen everything. Gaara, maintaining something of himself, walked slowly to the edge of the roof to look down at his older brother. "What do you want?"

"Nothing. I'm just surprised as hell. I didn't know you were capable of scoring a girlfriend." Kankuro smirked. "She must be pretty damn crazy, huh?"

"Girlfriend...?" Gaara questioned the term, as if he didn't know what it meant. "She was asking a question."

"And you didn't kill her, thus my point." Kankuro grinned, winking. "But don't worry, I won't tell anybody about your new brown-eyed girlfriend."

Gaara got lost within his own head for a moment. "Her eyes are blue..." He corrected.

"Once again, my point." Kankuro gave, laughing and turning to walk down the street.

Gaara would have killed Kankuro, but he was still too dazed, that tingle still lingering on his forehead.

It was addictive.

* * *

"You did WHAT???"

"I... uh... asked him what the mark on his forehead meant?"

"Not that! You touched him??"

"Not in the sense that you make it sound like, but yeah."

"Are you crazy?" Fury gave, her eyes wide, looking at Loor in utter shock. The two had met up at the great stone faces, and Loor had informed Fury of the recent events.

"Just a little. I'm quite proud of it." Loor gave, smirking back at her friend. Loor had never filed herself as 'sane,' or anyone else for that matter. According to her, no one was sane, and thus there was no need to point out anyone else's insanity.

"He could have killed you! What then?" Fury demanded, frantic.

"Then I'd be dead, obviously." Was the dry reply. Loor didn't seem to be taking the situation seriously.

"What about me, huh? Ever stop to think of that one??" Fury winced at her own words, but they had already left her mouth, and she didn't even think of uttering an apology. If she did, if she backed down, Loor could get herself hurt... she wouldn't let that happen!

Loor was taken slightly aback, her smirk falling off. "Well... I guess you'd probably be completely crushed for a couple of days... maybe even a week, and then someone would get you back up on your feet, and you'd go back to training. More likely than not, you'd also stay here instead of going back."

Fury sighed, growling in the back of her throat. "You never think of anyone but yourself..." She muttered quietly. Then, quickly after saying such. "Oh, sorry! I didn't mean that!"

She couldn't help her habits. Being rude was being rude.

Loor rolled her eyes. "Yeah you did, and it ain't true. Why the hell do you think I'm training so hard? Honestly now, and no answer is too rude."

Fury went slightly red, sitting down on the ground. "So you can be a hero and kill Orochimaru yourself..."

"No." Loor answered. "Fury... I'm doing this because I want to protect the one person left that I care about. I need my little sister. I'm training so that I can protect you... and I'm just hoping that you'll be able to protect yourself too, soon." She crouched down, taking Fury's shoulders in a hug. "C'mon girl, you know I love you."

"Yeah, _Onee-san..._" Fury answered, returning the hug. "I know. I love you too."

Loor pulled away, and the girls traded a smile. "So... how was your day?" Loor asked.

Fury flushed slightly. "Well, I was hanging out with Kiba for lunch not too long ago."

At the mention of lunch, Loor remembered that she had skipped the meal. Fury picked up on this, and quickly focused upon it before Loor could try and lecture her about boys.

"_Onee-san..." _She scolded. "Have you eaten at all today?"

Loor winced. "Uh... no..." She admitted.

"You have to eat." Fury gave, getting up quickly and yanking her sister up. "C'mon, let's go."

Loor laughed lightly. "Hehe... I'm supposed to be the big sister, and yet you keep ending up taking care of me..."

"Well, I ought to return the favor every now and then, for all the times you try and be there for me."

There was a small pause. "Fury... thank you."

"You're welcome." Fury returned, glancing back slightly. "No, can you walk any slower, or are we gonna do this whole trip backwards?"

Loor snickered, speeding up so Fury didn't have to drag her anymore. "Sorry. By the way... you can let go of that hand... please."

Fury quickly did, and then glanced down at the hand that she had been holding to drag her sister by. "Holy..." She muttered, not even bothering to finish whatever she was going to say. Loor's hand was very bruised, a lot like her ribs. "Remind me that if I ever meet this Gaara guy not to piss him off..."

"I didn't even do that." Loor snickered, the right hand being the one that was so beat up. She flexed it, and winced. It would be sore for a few days, but she'd live. "I just kinda... showed up."

"Well, if you hadn't been stalking him--"

"I wasn't stalking. I was... obsessively shadowing."

"Either way, you wouldn't get in trouble if you didn't put your nose where it didn't belong... right?"

"Well, well, well, who's gotten bold? I think it was about a week ago you wouldn't even think of saying something like that."

"You could say Kiba's been rubbing off on me."

Loor rolled her eyes. "Note to self, keep an eye on Scruffy."

"Why don't you like him?"

"Simple; he's male."

"That Gaara kid is male."

"Yeah, but I know he won't try anything because he tried to kill me the second I met him." Loor grinned. "Anyway, Kiba's just fun to fight with."

There was a pause in the conversation. "_Onee-san... _you weren't planning on trying to get into the chunnin exams, were you?"

"Why?" Loor asked.

"It's dangerous..." She gave Loor a look. "Please... please don't try to get in."

Loor stared at Fury for a few moments. Various things went through her brain, but the elder girl sighed, hooking her thumbs on the hem of her pants and nodding her head. "Alright Fury... just for you, I won't try to get in."

"Thanks..." Fury returned.

Heh. Loor said she wouldn't try... there was nothing in that context about just succeeding.

The girls continued on their way to the ramen bar, where Fury paid for Loor to have lunch. (She got the money from Kiba.) In the last month, Loor had learned the basic kanji of the menu from the various people she would eat with. While Loor was eating, the sky had started to cloud up again, though Loor was done before it started raining.

"See you!" Loor waved, turning to walk off, leaving Fury alone to head go look for Kiba. He had taken his coat back, and even a little mist from the sky would not be pleasant in a T-shirt. She moved quickly, but had no idea where he'd be.

God, this world needed to develop cell towers.

The storm broke long before Fury found him, and she quickly took refuge under the eve of a roof. She didn't have time to get sick, and the rain was heavy. Getting soaked would be asking for a cold, especially with her immune system, which was weak when she was born two months before she was due.

Around the corner, she could hear someone cursing. Inching her way along, avoiding getting wet at all costs, she found that someone had nearly crashed into the wall around the corner.

Who? Kabuto. Why? Because his glasses were all fogged up.

"Kabuto...?" Fury couldn't help giggling. "There's a building there."

"I noticed..." Kabuto grumbled, taking off his glasses and leaning against the wall, picking up the bottom of his shirt to try and get some of the fog off of them. "It's not the first time that's happened..." He chuckled, his eyes attempting to focus upon Fury without the glasses, but failing.

In the back of her mind, Fury thought he had nice eyes.

Kabuto put his de-fogged glasses back on his nose, pushing them up and smiling. "And what brings you out here in the rain?"

"Lookin' for Kiba..." Fury gave, looking around, shivering. The temperature was dropping fast with the rain. "You haven't seen him, have you?" She asked, crossing her arms.

"No, I haven't." Kabuto said, getting off of the wall he had been leaning on and coming over to her side of the building, standing in front of her, smirking and pushing some silver strands of hair out of her face. "You look all messed up."

Fury shrugged. "It's been an interesting afternoon." Was all she said.

"You certainly look it." He gave, leaning on the wall next to her. "Care to tell?"

"I think... I think Loor's gonna try and sneak into the chunnin exams. I know she said she wouldn't... but I have a mind not to trust her. She tends to lie when she wants something."

This information seemed to puzzle him. "She's your big sister... she should be setting a good example, and even if she does lie, she shouldn't lie to you."

"Yeah, I know. She knows. And I know she can't help it... She sometimes does it on accident."

"Accidentally lie?" He seemed really confused now. "You mean she's a pathological liar?"

"Yeah." Fury nodded slowly. "She doesn't mean to, and I know... she's just gotten used to it. We deal with each other."

"Why in the world would Loor lie, though? She seems to have things pretty easy."

"That'd be why." Fury answered. "She feels that things are _too_ easy."

_Huh..._ Fury thought to herself. _Maybe that's why Loor is attracted to danger._


	22. Doc

Two of four, and moving on.

**No ownage.**

OWTF!!

**Markings- Chapter Twenty Two  
****Doc**

"Huh... looks like the storm is clearing up."

Fury glanced up. She had been standing, talking, with Kabuto for at least an hour. They were just making jokes and laughing. What they said to each other meant nothing, they were just hanging out. Still, what Kabuto said was true. The storm was fading away, the rain lessening. She had almost forgotten about it.

"Then... I guess I should get going..." Fury muttered. She said this slowly, and then looked over, giggling as his glasses had fogged up for the umpteenth time. "Here, I'll get it." She offered, taking them and cleaning them with her own shirt hem. "You're hopeless..."

"Well, _thanks._" Kabuto gave sarcastically, laughing with her, putting his glasses back on as she handed them back. "Much better. Maybe I should have you clean my glasses more often."

She felt herself take a slight blush. "Well, at least I'm good at something."

"By the sound of it, it sounds like you're getting quite a feel for chakra control. Just watch, you'll be a ninja yet." He gave a confident smile. "I bet you could go to the chunnins within a year."

"With Loor and who else? As far as I've seen, all the teams have three members."

"Someone else out of the academy, probably. The classes don't always evenly divide out. New graduates tend to fill in holes in other three man teams."

"...holes?" Fury asked slowly. That didn't sound very nice.

Kabuto sighed. "It's no secret. A shinobi's life is dangerous... we're sent on life threatening missions, assassinations, and sometimes war. We live by, and die by, our weapons, for we become weapons ourselves. When one of the three team members is taken out, a new graduate might be sent to them who didn't figure into a team of his or her own. Following that, if two members are killed, the last member will be used to mentor two people who didn't have a third member."

"Wow..." Fury sighed, looking away. Sure, all this stuff was interesting... but Fury wasn't like Loor in a very big aspect. While Loor was this daredevil who would take anything against the odds... Fury had an intense fear of death. She knew how weak she had been when she was born; her deficient immunities only being the beginning. When she was born, doctors told Fury's mother that she would never be able to walk, talk, or even think properly. She was to be mentally handicapped, and probably on a breathing machine for most of her life.

Fury knew she was a walking wonder... the fact that she hadn't died at five years of age from a common cold. Fury's dreams were based on that fear of death, to at least be a mother before she had to die.

At least that much...

"Well," Kabuto gave, calling her out of her thoughts. "If you gotta get going, you should go before the storm comes back." He gave a smirk. "Or you'll be stuck with me for another hour."

"Oh, right!" She giggled, nodding, and jumping at him for a quick and friendly hug. "I'll see you later Kabuto!"

As she was still hugging him, and he slowly hugged back after getting over a slight shock, both heard a loud bark.

Fury let go to see Akamaru behind her. "Akamaru... where's Kiba?"

"Right here."

From around the corner came Kiba, who looked as huffy as he always did when Kabuto was around, perhaps more so. Fury registered this, and felt her face go red. "Oh... s-s-sorry Kiba! I was looking for you when it started raining and--"

"Just come on..." He muttered, walking past her and Kabuto, patting his leg for Akamaru to follow, who whined at his owner and then growled at Kabuto.

Fury felt herself go mute, guilt weighing in. Sheepishly, she waved at Kabuto as she moved to keep up with Kiba's slow and dejected walk.

Slowly, she tried to patch the gap. "I... I really was looking for you..."

"Yeah." Kiba said quietly. He was a closed book, his eyes focused forward.

"But... I don't wanna get sick, so I sat under the eve, and Kabuto walked into the building because his glasses were fogged up."

"And you stayed there for the whole storm." He concluded. "Yeah, I know."

Akamaru, walking between them, almost seemed to glare at his owner. With only a slight growl as a warning, Akamaru jumped forward and gave a hard bite to Kiba's ankle.

"Yowch!" Kiba gave, wincing and lifting his leg for the dog to let go. "Akamaru, what was that for??"

Boy and dog stared at each other for several moments, Akamaru growling and occasionally yipping, as if trying to get a point across and making sure to reiterate it several times, just in case Kiba didn't get it.

"Yeah, yeah, I know, damn it." Kiba growled, breaking eye contact.

"What did he say...?" She asked quietly.

"Said I shouldn't be taking stuff out on you, since it ain't your fault." He hefted a big sigh. "I just really don't like that guy."

"Kiba... you're not jealous, are you?"

Fury expected Kiba to burst out, at once denying such a concept. Instead, he just focused on the ground in front of him again. "Well... you've never hugged me like that."

Fury felt herself go bright red, right down to the tips of her freezing cold toes. She'd never had anyone jealous over her before. Ever. She wasn't quite sure how to react. She was friends with Kabuto, no changing that, but she liked Kiba. She didn't want to do anything drastic like breaking it off with Kabuto just because of Kiba...

At once, her mind came up with a proper solution that was a lot less complicated.

She launched herself at him in a similar hug. Kiba wasn't expecting it, but still caught her, nearly tripping but steadying. She squished him with all she had, though it wasn't much compared to him when he squeezed back.

"There." She gave cheerily. "No worries?"

Kiba laughed, and she did too. "Yeah... no worries."

* * *

Loor had decided to head towards Lee's apartment about an hour earlier than she usually did, not having anything else to do. She was actually thinking about some random excuse she could come up with that would be a bit more polite than 'I was bored so I came back; what's up?' She was good at inviting trust, and one of the best ways of doing it was making a person laugh every time you saw them. Lee was a bit of a tough crowd, but she managed.

Just as she was starting to come up with something witty, she nearly crashed into the ever so sheepish girl from Kiba's team; Hinata.

"Whoa!" Loor yelped as the girl moved quickly onto the main street from a back way. "Hinata, where ya going?"

Hinata, who had also jumped and skidded to a stop, hid behind her headband, her white eyes wide and shaky. "Oh... s-sorry Loor... I was... just... um..." Her soft voice sunk into the mousy tones. "Well... uh..."

Loor took a step to look down the back way, which led to an adjacent street. Standing there, reading some advertisement, was Naruto. "I don't get you Hinata..." Loor snickered. "He's right there, and you're runnin' away. Who don't you just talk to him?"

The red that already covered Hinata's cheeks spread. "Oh... I couldn't... I..."

"You get scared, and it's natural to be nervous when talking to someone you like." Loor gave a knowing smile. "The point is to buck up. Lemme tell you something Hinata, I talk to guys like I talk to girls, which is why guys like me so much. I don't even count myself as female anymore, and they love that confidence." She grinned. "You follow?"

"I... uh... well, yes, but..." Hinata's two pointer fingers had started to poke together in front of her chest. "I just get so frightened... that I'll say something wrong..."

"If you do, laugh it off. That's what he'll do." Loor gave a comforting smile. "Listen, I don't wanna bully ya into nothing. I'm just saying that you should go up and talk to him like you would anyone else."

"But I don't know what to say..."

"What do you say to your other friends? Just ask how his day is going, and pick up on anything from there. Pick passive subjects, get to know him. If he laughs, laugh with him." Loor smiled. "It's a pretty simple game to play."

Hinata's white eyes looked past Loor, into the back way, to Naruto, who was still standing there. She whined in the back of her throat, fingers still poking. "Maybe... if you come with me...?"

Loor smiled. "Sure, I'll wing ya. If you want a winger though, you wanna pick someone who already knows the guy you're talking to, or you'll intimidate him. Guys don't like it when girls travel in packs."

"R-right..." Hinata whispered. Loor smiled, putting an easy hand around the girl's shoulders and walking through the back way, leading her.

"Hey, Naruto!" Loor greeted with a big smile. "How long ya gonna read that thing? You ain't just tryin' to look smart, are ya?"

Naruto's head whipped around. "Hey Loor!" He gave, mirroring smile. "And Hinata too!" He snickered. "Must be my lucky night or something."

"Lucky night, huh?" Loor asked. "What else happened today?"

"Well, I nearly beat Sasuke in sparring practice, Konohamaru bought me ramen in return for playing ninja with him and his friends, and then we played a prank on that snooty trainer of his and got away with it, and now I get to talk with two cute girls." Naruto grinned. "I'm lucky today, believe it!"

"Kony bought you ramen?" Loor smirked. "Hey, Hinata, you like ramen, don't you?"

It was a smooth set up. Loor turned her head to the girl to see her face was already bright red, and now Naruto was looking at her, expecting a response.

"Uh... y-yeah... Ichiraku's is really good..."

"Hinata, I didn't know you liked ramen." Naruto gave, smiling. "Maybe me and you should hang for lunch sometime."

Loor could feel a jolt going up Hinata's spine. Loor was worried the poor girl was going to pass out.

"Well... uh..." She squeaked.

Naruto's face dropped slightly. "Well, if you don't want to, you don't have—"

"No, no!!" She lifted her head, her face overcoming her headband. "I meant... I'd like that... a lot..."

He regained his grin. "Sweet! That's gonna be fun."

Loor snickered at the both of them, and removed her arm from around Hinata's shoulders. Time for the sparrow to go solo. She'd have to get used to it. "Oh well, guys. I ought to get going; I got people at home worrying about me and all that." She ruffled Hinata's hair. "You two kids behave."

"L-L-Loor...!" Hinata gave, feeling like she was getting dropped on her ass.

Loor, who had begun to walk, turned back and smiled. "C'mon Hinata, it ain't that hard. Just keep your face out from behind that little piece of metal. No one can see how pretty it is if you hide it."

Hinata stared helplessly at Loor for a few moments more, and then nodded, making a point of raising her chin. "Right..."

Loor continued to walk, just turning the corner as she heard Naruto ask; "What was that about?"

"N-nothing!" Was Hinata's returning whisper-yelp.

Loor snickered to herself. Young love. She remembered being like that once... obsessive and reclusive, though she hid behind a book, not a headband. That was also two years ago, before crushes even began to mean anything. They still didn't really mean anything at her current age, not really till you were sixteen did they go beyond the world of infatuation and strange hormonal inflexions, and settle into actually liking a person.

At yet at her current age... Loor could almost acclaim to being the best person for romance advice. The ultimate irony; that she herself didn't believe in love, and refused to date. Back at home, she had begun to inherit her older brother's nickname, since he had the same knack for it; Doc.

She winced at the thought of her older brother... her ultimate role model below her mother. Four years older than her, she had learned how to lie from him, and how to understand problems she herself never experienced simply by listening and assessing the situation.

The one thing her brother never taught her... was how to avoid the opposing sex. Paul had been a bit of a speed dater himself. He had quite a few fillies chasing after him, and some how managed to get them all to line up. He'd date one, and if it didn't work out, the next one would step up to the plate. They didn't fight or rip each other's hair out... they just waited their turn. Loor didn't have that going for her.

She wished she could have talked to her big brother... he would know what to do... know how to get things done and get them done fast. Her big brother was the only one who won arguments against her... he could win against anyone, make anyone see things his way. Of course he had a fair share of arrogance... but still, at least she'd have someone if he was still around.

This remorse fed back into her anger to Orochimaru; for taking him away. For taking them all away. Anger, at once, went to hate.

It took a lot for Loor to hate someone, but Orochimaru had quickly placed himself on top of that list, seconded by whoever that guy was who was with him... Kabuto was getting dangerously close to becoming third on that list, but delayed his own being added for handing out the information Loor needed to get into the chunnin exams. Scruffy wasn't even close though; Loor didn't hate him, she just wanted to make sure her little sister wasn't getting into nothin'.

Loor pulled out of her own mind as she arrived at Lee's door, fishing out her own key (She had one now) and unlocking the door. Inside, the main light was off, but Lee's light was on and his door was open. Loor shut the door, locked it, and dropped off her key. "Hey." She called, taking off her shoes.

"Hello Loor." Came Lee's voice. "You are early."

"You noticed." Loor snickered. "Little later than I planned, but that's just because I was helping out a friend."

"That is nice of you." He said, appearing in the doorway to his room. He was already in his night pants, shirtless, probably doing some night exercises. His eyes dashed over her as she went over to the pile of blankets that made up her bed on the floor. "What happened to your ribs... and your hand?"

"Had a brush with someone that I shouldn't have messed with... twice." She snickered. "Just bein' me." She said this as she sank to the floor, moving on to her stretches.

"Does it not hurt?" Lee asked in surprise, as her movements were unhindered.

"I'm always in pain, Lee. This ain't much." She said this as she set her legs wide, reaching to one set of toes and counting in her head.

"Always...?" He seemed confused, coming over to her and crouching down to be on her level.

"Yeah... back problems." She shrugged, her count reaching thirty, and she straightened before reaching for the other set of toes. "The muscle on the lower right side seizes up if I don't keep it stretched, but it always hurts, day and night, so I'm used to it. I only notice it if it acts up, which is usually if I'm stressed out or ignore my stretches." She took a deep breath, and Lee heard it as several pops admitted from her neck and upper back. "It cracks a lot... which takes the pain away... a little."

"So that is why you do this every night..." He trailed off. "Mind if I join you?"

"Oh, sure, go ahead." Loor smiled. "The more the merrier..."

It was more than obvious that when Lee sat the way she was sitting, he was much more flexible. He nearly did the splits, and it didn't seem to bother him much. She giggled at this fact, which earned her a puzzled look from him that she waved off. She showed him her stretches, since she did more than stretch out her back. She stretched her legs too, still retaining the ability to stick her leg behind her head from when she was five years old.

Lee bested her in all of these exercises. Heck, he could put both legs behind his head at the same time if he wanted to.

"You ever considered being a contortionist?" Loor asked dryly as Lee showed off this fact with glee.

"A what...?"

"Someone who bends themselves into a pretzel for a living."

Lee gave a laugh at her tone. "Perhaps, but I am always a shinobi first."

"I know..." She shook her head, giggling. "I'm just saying you'll always have that option. Fury loves contortion... wanted to do it when she was older, but everyone keeps telling her that ya haft to be born that way."

"The people from your home keep sounding like Neji to me, telling others what they can and cannot do." Lee's gaze became hard at saying this as Loor showed him another one of her stretches, of rolling onto one's shoulder blades and sticking their legs straight into the air, then bending the body to bring your knees to your nose, or at least as close as you can get with keeping your legs straight, just to the point of pain, and then holding it. Loor was still wearing her leg weights, so this was also good for her abs.

"Yeah, giving people that destiny crap." She snorted at her knees, which were half a foot from her nose. "Someday I'm gonna ask him why he's got a stick up his ass."

Lee's nose was touching his knees, his toes touching the floor beyond his head. "I would think that you too would have a bad disposition if you were forced to grow up the way he did."

"Care to tell me that horror story?" Loor asked, straightening her back, and her legs, to point her toes at the ceiling before splitting her legs to the sides, taking deep breaths and exhaling them slowly.

"It is not my place..."

"Yet you've mentioned it twice. Either you want to tell the story, or you don't want me bad mouthing Neji for some reason, or both."

"You should not judge a person before you know them... or what has happened to them."

"True, but I already know some key points about Neji. Even if his upbringing was bad, he's an ass because he's blaming it upon his own weakness, and just telling everyone else that it was simply a force of nature."

"How do you know that?"

"The trained eye, Lee. Just remember the trained eye."


	23. Insomniac

Man, I've been waiting a long time to put this one up… hehe…

**No ownage.**

OWTF!!

**Markings- Chapter Twenty Three**  
**Insomniac**

Gaara was well aware he had never let anyone live before, much less escape him twice. It confused him, and enraged Shukaku, of course. The demon's blood lust had been on the rise for quite a while, and with Gaara yet to feed it, the next full moon would prove to be dangerous for several residents of Konoha.

In the middle of the night, Gaara walked the rooftops while the city slept. He would occasionally glance up at the slowly filling moon, just past three quarters, but his mind was preoccupied with but one question.

Why?

_**Why indeed...**_

Gaara winced at the voice in his head, the demon stirring. Usually, the two co-existed well. On the other hand, usually, Gaara was more consumed by rage and blood lust than he was curiosity. Usually, besides the full moon, they didn't talk to each other.

That is, unless Shukaku was growing unhappy with him.

_I don't know. _He whispered inwardly, hopping from one roof to another. He hardly noticed the gourd lifting and then bumping back down onto his back, even though the thing had to weigh better than seventy pounds. He had worn it since he was six.

_**Then kill her and get it over with.**_ Came the creature with a malicious tone. _**She's powerful...**_

_Not yet. She has potential. Raw energy._

_**Good enough.**_

Gaara stopped walking, crossing his arms and looking at the wall of another, taller, building across the way. He sank into his thoughts, and a more defensible point from Shukaku's influence.

How long had it been since he resisted? Years? Perhaps right before he killed his uncle? On the other hand... how long had it been since someone touched him? Probably about the same amount of time, if not more. _Why...?_ He asked his beast, though he wasn't sure where the question was going. Was he asking, once again, why he was this way? Or why he didn't kill that girl?

All he asked was why.

_**Power, of course.**_ Shukaku hissed. Gaara could almost picture the single tailed raccoon within his mind. An ugly and bulky sand colored creature, veined with purple as if it had been turned inside out. It had a huge maw, and a snout wrinkled in distaste, along with glowing gold eyes with diamond pupils. _**Why else do you kill for me?**_

Before this creature, Gaara felt rather small, almost like his six-year-old self... _To affirm my own existence. To feel alive. _

_**Well then. **_Shukaku's snout wrinkled up into a grin, showing a large amount of teeth within his maw. _**She seems to be the helping type. Let her help you. Kill her, so she can help you feel alive, and make you strong.**_

Gaara began to feel his mental self, his small form, clutching something soft for comfort, probably a teddy bear. _I don't know where she is._

_**Like that's ever stopped you before.**_ The Shukaku's great front paws met the ground, claws ripping rifts into a ground that didn't exist. He lowered himself, giant maw expelling foul smelling breath into Gaara's face. _**Now then... you wouldn't be arguing with me, would you?**_

That tone... it was a tone to be used on a child. Gaara almost found it fitting, and angering at the same time. Still, he didn't answer, backing up a step and clutching the teddy harder, being able to feel the soft fake fur.

_**Well?**_

_No..._

_**Then go.**_

Gaara snapped back into his twelve year old body, nearly gasping, finding that he had begun to clutch his own head while within his mind. Slowly, he loosed his thin fingers from his hair, regaining himself and glancing about. The Shukaku was right... he had never had any trouble in tracking someone down.

Somehow, he always knew. He could almost sense his target.

As always, this sense was correct. He almost wished it wasn't. Walking on the streets now, it was slow, biding, as if he were capable of changing his mind. He was trying to realize something, but he didn't know what it was.

His senses brought him across Konoha, to the apartment complex for ninja living on their own. The door he came upon was locked, but that was no matter. He yanked the cork from his gourd, feeling his ability to control it. In seconds, sand had flowed into the keyhole and formed a mold, hardening and producing a handle and he himself turned, the door clicking open, and the sand softening to return to the gourd.

He kept the cork in his hand as he opened the door, silent as death itself. His ice blue eyes were well accustomed to dark, so he could see fine.

He scanned the room, and saw a small pile of blankets and a pillow on the floor. Taking a step forward, he didn't quite believe what he saw.

She wasn't there.

Had he been led wrong? Or was she in the room beyond? He slowly, silently, moved through the dwelling, lightly pushing the door open that led to a bedroom.

It was a simple room, and a boy was sleeping in the bed. The window above his bed, however, was open, and Gaara could hear someone running down the street outside.

He had just missed her, was all.

He left as silently as he had come, locking the door behind him by remolding the key. She wasn't that far ahead of him... the trick was to follow her now. He did, taking to the rooftops again, moving quickly and quietly, and catching up enough to be able to see her. She was moving pretty quickly herself, as if she suspected herself of being followed, or pursued.

Perhaps he was becoming paranoid.

She was heading towards the woods, and he stuck close to her as they entered the thicker trees. Not that he'd loose her, but she sped up. She also knew where she was going, so it was like following a frenzied deer through the woods, or a stray cat.

She skidded to a stop in a clearing, one that he stayed just out of, far away enough as not to be seen.

Why was he waiting?

He didn't know why, but he did, watching as she regained her breath, stretching slightly and then turning to a tree that ringed the clearing. She made the sign for ram, and then went towards it.

She was practicing chakra control.

He watched as she walked, carefully, several feet up. It was obvious she was unsteady, but she managed beyond twenty feet before the area of the tree started to crush under her feet.

So she was a nin in training? Gaara watched as she crashed to the ground, the landing looking unpleasant. Still, she got up. She didn't even wince.

He finally pushed himself, to walk into the clearing. She noticed him at once, turning around, dark aqua blue eyes shining with a slight shock.

"What...?" She asked slowly, and then took up that strange smirk that she wore whenever she was faced with him. "Don't tell me you're here to finally finish the job?"

Gaara was still clutching the cork in one hand, and his hand clenched against it like his young mental form clutched that teddy bear, like his actual six-year-old self would. "What... what you done to me?" He asked, glaring, the words themselves seeming to take extreme effort.

She seemed puzzled. "I haven't done crap to you."

"Liar." He spat. "Do you have a Kekkei Genkai? Some sort of mind control? What have you done to me, damn it!"

She raised an eyebrow. "Y'know you sound evil when you raise your voice?" She snickered. "Anyway, no, I don't have any of those fancy blood line things, and I have no idea what you're talking about. What makes you think that I did something?"

"I don't want to kill you..."

It sounded like he was saying this, not to make the point to her, but someone else. On the other hand, no one else was there, unless she didn't know something. Still, she shrugged it off. "Good for you, and nice to know. Now then, if you have no more important matters, I'm getting back to work." With that, she turned back to her tree, glaring at it.

This one comment made it rather obvious to Gaara that she didn't understand the significance of what he just said. Heck, he almost didn't understand what he just said. Had he said that? What did that mean? Killing was all he knew! He fell silent, gaze lowering.

"Are you still here?"

"What's it to you?" He asked, not moving.

"Well, seeing as you've nearly killed me twice now, your hanging around doesn't really make me comfortable."

"I thought you weren't scared."

"I didn't say I was afraid, I said I was uncomfortable." She snorted, making a run at the tree. "There's a difference."

Gaara wasn't quite sure why, but he sat down, crossing his legs. He felt neither need nor want to leave, and he still had to question the fact that he didn't want to kill her. Shukaku was pushing him to do so, but he didn't want to. He didn't bother to watch her though, positive that she wasn't going to attack him, and it wouldn't have mattered if she did. He listened as he heard her steps going up the tree, and then her coming back down, rather unwillingly, to land hard on the ground.

"...doesn't it hurt...?" He asked slowly.

She grunted, cursing, to look over at him. "A... a little, yeah. I'll live. If it don't kill ya, it makes you stronger, right?" She laughed lightly, but got no reaction. He didn't even look at her. She rolled her eyes, managing back up to her feet. "Well, so shoot me for trying to start a conversation if you won't leave. Why the hell would you ask anyway? I bet you've never been hurt with that sand of yours. Is that a Kekkei Genkai?"

"No... not quite."

She was yanking off her shoes. "Wadda ya mean, 'not quite?' It is or it isn't."

"Then no. It was just an ability I was born with."

"Isn't that what a Kekkei Genkai is?"

"No. That's something you inherit."

"Nice to know. So, you were born with a special ability to control sand. Nice to know. God, your temper tantrums must have been fun for your big brother and sister."

He didn't reply, and she shook her head, sighing. "Man, why ta hell am I talkin' to you anyway? Day I met you, your big sister came up and told me you were trouble. Told me no one survived, and I expected you to come and finish the job sometime. And here I am, just talkin' just cause you won't leave when you're told to."

"I don't feel like it."

"Yeah, so? We sometimes do things we don't feel like according to request." Loor growled, taking a stance and a hand sign and turning back to her tree.

She winced as she made the wrong sign, the tree starting on fire like the one that morning. "Shit..." She muttered, switching signs. Tiger and ram were so damn close! A slight breeze put out the small flame that had been licking the tree, smoke rising. "Stupid hand signs..."

"Why did you want to touch me?"

She glanced back, getting pissed. He kept disturbing her concentration. "Cause, I was curious! You meet a twelve year old homicidal... person, and he's got the mark for love carved into his forehead, so I wanna touch... I dunno, to make sure it's real. Being alive is defined by emotions and stimulus, can't help the fact that I tend to seek out interesting stuff to stimulate myself with."

There was silence again, and she hefted a stressed sigh, turning back to her tree and trying to calm down. Still, even if he wasn't looking at her, she could almost feel him listening, waiting for her to ask another question. Their questions had been going back and forth, almost. Perhaps he thought it was her turn. Well, she didn't have time to play a hundred questions with this guy. She ran at the tree, leaping up over what would have been three steps, feeling her first foot stick, and the forcing herself higher, running, breaking her hands and aiming for a limb that had to be forty feet up, the first one on the tree.

He glanced up as she leaped for it, her hands out.

She didn't seem to notice that falling from that distance, onto her back, would probably kill her. On the other hand, she did notice when her hands caught, wincing as the rough bark dug into her hands, but gripping hard and swinging herself up. "Oh yeah!" She grinned, standing up, not using chakra to balance herself. She was used to high places, and quickly did a victory pose.

She then noticed that she had no real way of getting down unless she wanted to try walking down, which wasn't really her cup of tea. She had jumped from fifteen feet before, or even seventeen, but the ground was suddenly _really_ far away.

She felt like the stupid cat that went into trees and was too scared to climb back down.

"Do you have a death wish?" She asked herself, growling. "Yeah, maybe... just maybe..." She muttered again, in reply. She talked to herself a lot. "God, go do stupid stuff like climbing trees you can't get down from, talkin' to boys who wanna kill ya..." She snorted, putting her hands together to regather chakra to attempt walking down on the trunk. "Yeah, Loor, you're _real_ smart... sure." She snorted, walking down slowly, carefully, finding it strange and almost dizzying as she walked towards the ground. "Hey, Gaara, why ain't you sleepin'?"

"I can't." He said quickly and simply.

"Restless?" She shook her head, twenty feet from the ground and closing. "Sure can understand that. Sometimes, I can go a whole week without sleepin'."

"I've gone several years."

He wasn't bragging. This was stated as a fact. She glanced up at him, slightly shocked, losing it at ten feet and managing to right herself for a good landing. "Bullshit, dude. A person can die if they go a month! It's not humanly possible."

"Those rules are for those who _are_ human."

She stared at him for a moment, and then rolled her eyes. "Okay... nutcase. Let's see what I got on the bill so far...?" She mimed putting glasses on and holding a clipboard and pen, checking things off. "Psychotic murderer, check. Reclusive, check. Insomnia, check. Masochist depression..." She glanced at the scar on his forehead. "Maybe. And to add onto that; beastly illusions, check. Just at this point I'm going to assume dual personalities, and serious family issues."

His eyes turned to glare at her. "That _thing_ is not a personality."

Loor's comedic face went to shock. "I... I was just making a joke. And what thing?"

He said it as if he had told the story thousands of times, like some emo poser talking about where he got his latest set of chains and hair dye. "A demon that was once sealed within a teapot, called Shukaku, was put into me before birth by my father. I killed the woman that brought me into this world because of it, and the sand demon gave me the sand control jutsu that only I can do." His eyes became cold, bringing himself to his feet. Anything that she had brought out of him at once was locked away behind an emotional fortress. "I kill people to feel alive, simply because there is no other way... I should not exist, thus I must affirm it by killing others. For every person I kill, their blood mixes with the sand, feeding my insanity and making me stronger. I've wanted to kill every powerful person that ever crossed my path, and simply kill the weak ones out of annoyance. And yet..."

Loor watched as he took a step closer. Even if he was shorter than her, he suddenly seemed intimidating. She held her ground though, stiffening the muscles in her shoulders and puffing her chest.

"The Shukaku screams for your blood..." He stared at her. "And I don't want to do it."

Loor couldn't help it, raising her hand once more. Gaara sighted it, but felt no need to stop it. He let her, almost welcomed the sensation of her fingertips once again brushing the scar on his forehead. "When... who, did this?"

"I did. Six years ago."

"Gaara!!"

The shout came over the woods, the sound of Temari's voice. It was quickly echoed.

"Gaara! C'mon, you're not supposed to be out!!"

That was Kankuro. Loor heard an insentient clicking, like a machine. "What's that...?" Loor asked, whispering.

"Crow... Kankuro's puppet. They're looking for me."

"No duh. I'd say this is a good time for you to get lost."

Gaara nodded, reluctantly pulling away from the hand that was still on his head. She watched him as he suddenly vanished in a swirl of sand.

Where he had been sitting, he had left the cork for the gourd.

"Shoot..." Loor muttered, quickly moving to grab the little item, but having no pocket to put it in. The clicking, Crow, apparently, had grown closer, and she had nowhere to hide the cork. "Shoot... screw... shit... sporks on a stick!" She muttered, looking about, almost frantic.

Moments later, the puppet known as Crow came into the clearing, a several armed wooden thing that seemed to be moving about on it's own. It had a strange head with a creepy smile, without legs and a long tattered thing that could have passed off as a cape.

The thing ambled into the clearing, and it was shown to be connected to several blue strings, ten in all. It's clicking increased as its head swung about and recognized the figure of a human sitting against a tree.

"Temari, Crow's got somethin'!" Kankuro cried.

Loor watched, rather calmly, as the strange strings on Crow's back were yanked taught, as if someone were following them. Seconds later, the boy who was usually dressed in all black, Kankuro, came into the clearing. He wore the black pants, but had no shoes, and wore only a gray shirt with netting over it. The hood of his outfit, of course, wasn't there, showing hair that was as red as Gaara's if not with a few more bronze hues in it. He also lacked the purple paint on his face, which actually turned out to be pretty handsome. Also, the mystery of the blue strings was solved to be replaced with another. All ten strings were attached to his fingers, one string per finger, like puppet strings. The thing was, they weren't tied on... they just stuck.

Temari was next to come into the area, her hair down and slightly wet, dressed in a simple lavender night time robe with the tie half open. She was also without shoes. These two had left the place in a big hurry. As both siblings came upon the clearing, Temari armed with the big black box that had been on her back before, they locked on Loor.

"Evening." Loor greeted.

"Was Gaara here?" Temari asked quickly, panting.

Loor raised an eyebrow. "If Gaara was here, do you think I'd be alive?"

"Good point..." Temari muttered. Despite this, Kankuro started to laugh, pulling Crow in closer and getting the puppet to wrap around itself, becoming a bit more compact.

"Are you kidding? I saw you guys before! I doubt Gaara could even kill you if he wanted to!"

Loor felt shock go through her, followed by a slight anger.

"What are you talking about, Kankuro?" Temari asked, obviously out of the loop.

"I ran into Gaara earlier today..."

"And by 'run into' she means she was stalking him!" Kankuro seemed to find this hilarious. "Seriously, you should have seen him when I called you his brown-eyed girl---"

The word stopped halfway out of Kankuro's mouth. The boy had been so preoccupied with being entertained that he didn't notice when Loor had moved, all too quickly, to shove her fist into his stomach hard enough to get a person to hawk up their guts. "I. Don't. Date." She seethed. "Next time, I'll make ya a bloody eunuch."

Kankuro coughed slightly, muttered something about having his guard down, but nodded. She backed off, smirking. "By the way, my eyes are blue."

"I can see that..."

Temari snickered. "Good one, Loor. I think he needed that."

"Nothing a few threats to his manhood won't fix." Loor smirked at the older girl. "Thing is, back home, guys knew I'd make good on those threats."

"C-come on Temari, he's not here. We should get going." Kankuro suddenly seemed very uncomfortable around Loor.

Temari snickered, nodding, putting the big black box in her hand over one shoulder. "Yeah. See you later Loor."

"Right." Loor nodded, smiling. Kankuro made a quick get away, but Temari lingered.

"Something up?" Loor asked, cocking her head to the side.

"Loor... you should go home before the finals of the chunnins... they're held a month after the main rounds, but if you know what's good for you, you'll go home before those fights."

"What...?"

"I can't tell you Loor... but if you want to be safe, you'll clear out before then."

Loor watched as Temari disappeared into the woods, and then turned back to where she had been sitting against the tree. There, among the roots, was the cork. She had been sitting on it to hide it.

Walking up, she picked it up, and stared for a few moments.

What the hell just happened?


	24. Sweet Moments and Sweet Revenge

And this is the last update of this set, and I hope to be back on Friday with one more! After that, updates will slow down. I have a German exchange student arriving at my house on Saturday and she will be staying till Oct. 20th. I am quite sorry about that, but I will still try to write while she is here. No ownage. 

OWTF!!

**Markings- Chapter Twenty Four**  
**Sweet Moments and Sweet Revenge**

Kiba woke up to something moving. This something, curled up against him, was at once clutched to his chest, seeing as he was very warm and didn't want the blankets to be displaced. "It's too early..." He muttered.

The something in his arms, Fury, giggled. "Not according to my training." She returned, once again trying to get up.

He hugged harder, the few inches she had gained being destroyed. "People are not meant to be awake at the ass-crack of dawn... Ain't natural..."

"I know, but I don't think people walking on trees against gravity is either, so if you would be so kind, I'm going to get up!"

He snorted, loosening his grip enough for her to pull away quite a bit. "Fine..." He growled. As she started to move away, he got a grin, suddenly grabbing her and yanking her back. "Changed my mind. It's too cold without you."

She rolled her eyes, a giggle stifled since she had been brought back facing him, thus her face was buried in blanket and his chest. "Kiba... Please?"

He growled slightly, hands loosening. When Fury looked up at him, he looked down with a well-practiced puppy look. He had the big brown eyes for it too, and he started whimpering in the back of his throat. "Don't give me that look!" She yelped, quickly looking away and hugging him. It was hard to ignore a well-practiced puppy look.

"Why should I?" He chuckled. "If it works, I should use it, right?" He returned the hug around her shoulders and lower back, head bending to hers. Her head had shifted from her pillow to one of his arms, which made her a little less apt to get up, since it was very comfortable there with him, and warm, as it has already been mentioned.

Still, she had stuff to do. "I have to get up..." She whined at him, looking back up to give him a puppy look of her own brand. She wasn't half bad at the big eyes part, Kiba would give her that. After a few seconds of a staring contest, he laughed and ruffled up her hair.

"Alright, alright, ruin my fun." He snickered, letting her go and laying back. "But I don't have training today, so I'm snoozin'."

She smiled, sitting up and looking about. She had ended up sleeping against him again the night before simply because they were both very lazy and she never got around to moving her own bed stuff back to her bed. Then, the night before, there had been an odd game of King of the Hill when she decided she would commandeer the whole pile, wrapping up in the blankets like some sort of demented turtle. He, of course, eventually won, but it was after they nearly ran over Akamaru several times, and figured out that both players of the odd game were ticklish at some point of their body or another.

This also meant whatever was left of Fury's 'Area' was a bit of a mess. The pad was mixed up with the rest of the stuff on Kiba's floor, and her shirt was missing, since she had once again stolen his coat to wear through the night. She started looking about the room, wondering where her T-shirt could have gotten off to, but she wouldn't be surprised to find it on the ceiling with how rambunctious they had been last night.

She actually looked up. It wasn't there, obviously.

Kiba, still awake, seemed aware of this frenzied search through his room as she started sifting through the stuff on the floor. The boy opened one eye, looking about lazily and then rolling over. "Found it..." He yawned. "...over here."

"Throw it over here." Fury gave, holding out her hand for it.

Kiba's hand emerged from the stuff behind his bed with her shirt clutched between his fingers, but he made no motion to toss it, or even roll back over.

"Kiba, give it to me."

"Come and get it."

Fury sighed, walking back over to him and reaching out for her shirt for him to move it out of her reach. She growled, grabbing for it again to have him move it again. Snarling, she leapt at it, and landed on top of him, trying to pin down his arm and get at it but failing.

"Kiba, hand it over, damn it!!"

"I don't want to!"

He was laughing, finding this entertaining as she sat up, still on top of him, and getting pinned by his free arm while the other extended beyond his head, away from her. She reached for it, but couldn't get it, no matter how low she leaned, well aware that if she came down a few more inches she'd probably suffocate him with her stomach.

Just then, the door opened. Both Fury and Kiba froze, looking over to see a very irritable looking Hana staring at them.

At once, both Fury and Kiba realized how wrong this had to look. She was straddling his stomach, reaching for her shirt, wearing his coat, with a blanket covering the rest. Fury went bright red, and leapt away from Kiba, curling up on her own bed pad. Kiba, on the other hand, just gave a sheepish chuckle. "Hana, it ain't what it looks like."

Hana still stared with her mouth slightly open. "I... I'm gonna act like I didn't see that." She gave, turning and leaving, shutting the door behind her.

Fury pushed her face into the floor, surprised the blush on her cheeks didn't set the bed pad on fire. "Sorry..." She muttered.

"It's fine..." He assured. A few moments later, she felt his hand on her shoulder, forcing her to sit up. "Here. C'mon, take it."

He was holding out her shirt for her to take, which she did after a few moments. "Thanks." She muttered, shrugging off his coat and yanking on her shirt. She was still blushing. He noticed how embarrassed she was, and sunk down to sit beside her, hugging her.

"Hey, c'mon, it's not as bad as that picture she took yesterday."

"I know." Fury hefted a sigh, leaning against him. "I'm just... worrying..."

"What about?"

"Loor." Fury gave honestly. "She's gonna be so pissed at me..."

"Just cause you're hanging out with me? Please, her and Naruto look to be getting along just as well. She can't be a hypocrite about this crap, can she?"

"It's different." She gave. "She won't get attached... she's good at talking and then cutting ties. Me? I can't do that, and she knows it. Problem is, whether I'm attached or not, she'll drag me off by my hair."

Kiba winced. He had been picked up by his hair once or twice in his life. "Well... the village you two are from can't be _that_ far away, can it? I mean, you could still come visit every now and then, couldn't you?"

"Even if I did, Loor would be angry. I know how she feels about boys."

"You shouldn't let her control you." He snorted. "She seems to expect you to break the rules, ever think she was testing you? Why not push back once in a while, get angry, and fight back? Or, even better, handle it like a real shinobi."

"And how would I go about doing that?"

"Keep it a secret."

Fury's jade eyes gazed into the wall for a few moments. She stared at just one point in the wall, her eyes not drifting, as she thought about this. Keep it a secret? From Loor? Loor would see it in a heartbeat... but... Damn it! Loor was right. Already, Fury didn't even want to _think_ about having to leave.

On the other hand... Fury had seen Loor lie hundreds of times, from parents to teachers, she fooled them all with an ease of a practiced dancer. Deception did argue with Fury's conscience, but she'd be lying for the same reason that Loor did; to get what she wanted. Then she really could hit Loor for being a hypocrite if she got up in a tiff about it.

"If it comes to that... I'll try." She gave, returning the hug that he had been holding around her shoulders the whole time. "Now then," She had a bit more energy now. "I have to get going!"

Kiba laughed, patting her before letting her go, slipping back into his bed and stretching out, giving a wide yawn. "Have fun."

Fury moved quickly to leave the home bearing the name 'Inuzuka,' Kiba's last name. Of course, on her way, she met up with someone on the way. Only this time, she didn't meet the pink haired wonder.

She ran into the Gothic cockatoo.

Sasuke had been walking quietly with his hands in his pockets. At once, Fury joined him, smiling and getting no reaction, of course. Sasuke didn't even seem to notice that someone was walking with him.

"Uh... hello?"

He seemed to wake up, glancing over. "Huh...? Oh... hi."

He quickly looked forward again, an expression on his face that Fury couldn't read. Still, she felt curious. "Is something..." She paused. She was going to ask if something was wrong, but she was pretty sure that's what everyone asked him. Shaking her head, she looked up at the sunny sky. "Nice weather, huh? Better than the storms."

"Hm...?" He himself looked up, as if he didn't know it by how bright it was. "Oh... sure... I guess."

Fury, in the back of her mind, rolled her eyes. _Truly a man of few words. _She wanted to give another shot at trying a conversation, but could sense that it wasn't wanted. So, instead, she just locked her gaze forward, much like his, and kept walking.

"So... Loor's your sister, right?" Sasuke asked after a while.

"Not by blood, but we're such good friends that we started calling each other that." Fury answered.

"I see... so, have any siblings?"

"Nope. I'm an only."

"What about Loor?"

"Well... she had a big brother and a big sister."

He looked a little intrigued. "Had?"

Fury felt herself go red. _Nice going, babbler mouth!!_ She scolded herself. "Uh... s-s-sorry! I don't think she'd--"

"I won't tell her you told me." He gave calmly, still monotone.

Fury shook her head. "No! If you wanna know what happened, you have to ask her. It's her family."

He stared at her for a few moments, and then looked ahead again. Any emotion that might have worked up onto his face sunk back into his obsidian eyes, eyes that blocked everything from sight.

There was no more conversation between that point and the training grounds, though Fury had to wonder why he wanted to know.

* * *

Loor had not come inside after her brush with Gaara. She stayed outside, continuing her practice. From this, only two things could be said.

One, Loor had spent the night, sacked out in the clearing.

Two, that tree was hanging by a thread. It had been crushed in various points and set on fire more than once, and not all of those times had been accidents.

When Loor woke up, sun shining in her face, she came to notice that she was bathed in her own sweat after working herself like an underfed over beat mule, and the cold morning dew, which made her garments slightly damp and cold. When she tried to move, she was sore as hell, most of which being her feet, which still had slivers in them since she had taken her shoes off.

Still, in that morning sun, she opened her eyes with a smirk, looking to the highest point where her telltale craters were.

The trees in this forest were maddeningly tall. The one she had been training with had to be better than a hundred feet with a solid trunk. Just looking up, she knew she had to have gotten seventy last night, perhaps eighty. Since she didn't know any proper landing techniques (She knew that she'd seen _someone_ jump off some building or another that was better than forty feet, landing on their own feet and not getting hurt) she had to climb back down in the same fashion that she got up each and every time.

It was a little scary to think that the trees that were just on the edges of the Forest of Death dwarfed the trees in this area. Some of those trees were as tall as skyscrapers, and perhaps thicker and even taller. She had to wonder if one advanced into the canopy of such a dense and thick area if they would sometimes forget there was ground somewhere below them.

After a few moments, she forced herself up, looking at the base of the tree to smirk at her only spoil of the night; the cork from Gaara's gourd. She had to wonder how long it took him to notice, and if he ever thought of coming back for it. Probably did, but he didn't take it back, so she was free to enjoy her prize for the time being.

"Loor."

Loor knew that voice. At the moment, it was particularly stern. She didn't even look, just wincing. "Morning Lee."

"I am not going to yell at you for training late, or spending the night... but why do you still use my window? I gave you your own key."

Loor snickered, turning her head to see the boy who was standing behind her. "Cause, the window is harder to get out of."

Lee, for that was who it was, got a slight smirk at this. "Well spoken." He then looked over. "Though one might argue the mistreatment of the trees while you are out here."

Loor snickered. "You noticed, huh? Look how high that mistreatment goes."

Lee did, and smirked. "Not bad for a beginner."

She grinned, leaning over her own feet to pick the slivers of wood out. "Yeah, a very _sore_ beginner. I need about a week's hibernation and a shower."

"You and I both." He replied. "The hot water at the apartments stopped working last night."

"Cold showers, huh?" She rolled her eyes. "Loverly. Just wonderful, really." She winced as she yanked what was less of a sliver and more of a wedge of wood out of her heel. "Sporks on a stick..." She muttered.

"Sporks on a what...?"

"Made it up last night... off the top of my head."

"What is a spork?"

"Eating utensil where I'm from. It's like a spoon with tines on the end for stabbing stuff." She explained quickly, seeing as she knew Japanese people didn't use forks on a general basis, and this place was a lot like Japan.

"Oh." Lee still didn't get it. It was just a few moments later that he realized that her feet were bleeding. "Do you need help?"

"Naw... I got it... I think." She gave the last two words as she yanked a few more tiny slivers. "It's tedious work."

He walked up, unwrapping one of his arms at the same time. He sat by her, ripping a length of the white wraps off with his teeth and tucking the loose end in, taking one of her feet when she was finished with it, giving it a quick look over to make sure nothing was missed, and tied it up tightly with the wraps to stop whatever bleeding had started.

Once both feet were trussed up like this, Loor gave him a smile and slipped her shoes back on. "Thanks." She grunted as she got to her feet, which would hurt to walk on. "How long till you think the hot water will be back on?"

He shrugged. "I am not sure. Till then, there are public showers not far from the hot springs."

She gave a smile. "This place has hot springs? Why wasn't I notified?"

"You did not ask." He answered. "Sorry."

"No biggy... it don't cost nothin', does it?"

"No, the hot springs are public property since they are natural. Are you thinking of visiting them later?"

"Damn straight." Loor grinned. "With Fury. We've both been working hard, we need a break."

He shrugged. "I have not visited for a long time... perhaps I will some time today. See you later." He turned, to go back into the woods, probably towards his own training.

Loor grinned. "See you." she replied, walking towards her tree and picking up the cork.

She had a question for Fury that would put the 'Sweet' on sweet revenge.

* * *

"Fury?" Loor asked as she arrived at the training grounds. She had shaken off all evidence of her night spent on the grass, besides her bandaged feet, so no one asked about anything. The team seven trio was already present, but Kakashi was late; as always. Loor had to wonder what the man did that made him so damn busy in the morning.

Fury glanced up, leaning on one of the vertical posts, having been talking to Sakura. "Yeah, Loor?"

"How do you write 'I win' in kanji?" Loor quickly asked.

Yeah, it's exactly what you're thinking.

Fury attempted Loor's raised eyebrow, but both eyebrows went up. "What...?"

"You heard me. I wanna know how to write 'I win' in kanji. You know a lot of it, so I thought you'd know." Loor wore a big smirk, looking all sorts of smug about something.

Fury did _not_ trust that look on her face.

"Well, I do, but why?"

"Just messing with someone." Loor gave quickly.

Fury came away from the post, walking up to Loor. "You're not gonna write in sharpie on random people while they're not looking, are you?"

"No, no people. Just something that belongs to someone who was bothering me."

"Loor, I woke up about half an hour ago. Can you be a little _less_ cryptic?"

"Fine? Remember the evil red head that nearly killed me?" Fury noticed the usage of the word 'evil' was coupled with the 'someone's gonna get their ass handed to them' tone.

Fury returned it with a dry tone. "On two occasions? Yeah, I heard."

"It was only one occasion." Loor corrected. "I just spooked him the second time. Anyway, I happened to find something of his, and I wanted to write on it before returning it."

Fury didn't believe that for a second. "...found? Why do I suspect that your kleptomania habits have been acting up again?"

Loor was losing her humor now, cutting to the chase. "Are you gonna help me or not, damn it?"

"Sure... sure... why not?" Fury shrugged, and then snapped a look at her big sister. "Wait, this means you ran into him again, doesn't it?"

"Hey, _he_ was stalking _me_ this time."

"Nice to know... that doesn't make me feel any better."


	25. Transformation Jutsu

Last update for the weekend people. I love the feedback I'm getting; it's what keeps me going! In the three weeks while the German student is here, I _will_ try to write, but I have no garentees.

**I don't own it, it just consumes my life.**

OWTF!!!

**Markings- Chapter Twenty Five  
****Transformation Jutsu**

"Okay!" Naruto seemed rather happy to be sensai to Fury and Loor for the day. Sakura and Sasuke had gotten sent off on a tracking exercise, which let Kakashi stand idle, reading his book. "Sakura has given you practice with controlling your chakra, which is real useful in using jutsu! It makes sure you don't over do it, or don't do enough. Now, Kakashi wants me to give you some basic practice, so I'm gonna teach you some basic techniques, believe it!"

Loor rolled her eyes. He _had_ to tack that on there, didn't he? "Hey, question before we begin?" She gave, half raising her hand.

Naruto cocked his head. "Hm...? Sure, what?"

"How'd it go with Hinata last night?"

Fury looked between the two in confusion as Naruto shrugged. "She didn't stay long after you left, something about someone getting mad if she wasn't home soon, and then she ran off. We're still having ramen together today though, she promised."

Loor let an eyebrow rise. "And I assume you'll keep your promise and pay like a gentlemen?"

"Duh!" Naruto snapped. "A shinobi never goes back on their word, believe it!"

God that was going to get annoying fast.

Fury sighed. "I'm not gonna ask about what you guys are talking about, but can we get on with this? Some people want to go back to bed..."

"Whoa, someone ain't happy this morning." Loor snickered. "What, dog boy rub ya the wrong way?"

"No, but his big sister has issues with walking in at the wrong time..." Fury snorted, yawning. "And... I didn't sleep much... between fighting over the blankets with Kiba and Akamaru licking my face in the middle of the night..." She sighed, shaking her head. "I just want my pillow."

Loor stared for several moments. "You were fighting over the blankets with him? As in you were sleeping in the same bed?"

Fury knew that tone, and it instantly woke her up. "W-w-well, it was the other night that we had that storm, and it turns out Kiba hates 'em as much as I do, so we curled up together that night, and I just didn't move my stuff back is all!"

Loor got up into Fury's face. "He didn't pull nothin' did he?"

"No, he didn't!" Fury growled back. "Why do you care? As far as I know, you've been meeting up with boys on your midnight runs, which is just as bad."

Loor raised the other eyebrow. Fury didn't talk like this. She was growing bolder.

It caused her to smirk. Her little sister was growing up a little bit. "Good point. On the other hand, I run into guys who want to kill me. Either way," She glanced at Naruto. "I think we need to move on."

Naruto nodded. "Sheesh! I thought you two were gonna start a cat fight or somethin'!"

Loor rolled her eyes. "Anyway, let's continue."

Naruto nodded. "Right! Well, one of the basic techniques, and one that you have to be able to do if you wanna ever get through the academy, is a transformation jutsu. This is where you physically transform into someone else, or something." He grinned. "Observe."

Loor watched as Naruto picked his hands up into a sign that she had seen before, but it wasn't one of the animal signs she had learned. No, he made fists of his hands and stuck out his pointer and middle fingers out together, and then crossed them perpendicular to each other, bending slightly and grinning.

She could feel his chakra, his manipulation of it. It wasn't a simple movement, he was changing it to a particular shape. She stared, some sense almost being able to picture what he was going to do before he did it. Fury felt it too, of course.

_"Transformation!" _Naruto crowed for dramatic effect. Blue energy flashed around him, and his form disappeared in a white cloud that swept up over him. When it cleared slightly, both Loor and Fury stared at him blankly.

Naruto had been replaced with a busty, and naked, eighteen year old girl with long blond hair pulled back into pigtails. He grinned, posing. "Sexy jutsu!" He gave in a voice that was formatted with the transformation, innocent and feminine.

"What the hell is that?!" Fury yelped as a second puff went out, Naruto changing back into his normal self, with clothes, thank God. "Why the hell would you change into that unless you wanted to get raped??"

"Dude, you have to teach me that." Loor gave, smirking. "Prank central."

"Loor!" Fury yelped. "You're crazy!!"

Naruto smirked. "I like 'em crazy." He snickered, as if it were some clever joke. "The sexy jutsu is something I made myself, but it's just a transformation with a little tweaking. What you do is pretty simple. First, you wanna know what you're changing into. Know what it looks like on all sides, and picture it in your head. In this case, I want you two to try and turn into each other."

Loor and Fury looked at each other, Loor raising her eyebrow. "Okay..." Fury muttered.

"Alright. Take your stance," He showed, as if they needed to be shone that the most stable way to stand was with their feet apart and well braced. "Get your picture, and then cover that image in your own chakra using the hand sign. You have to form it real well, feel every inch of what you're changing into, or it'll turn out wrong and look really stupid."

Both Loor and Fury did as they were told, copying Naruto's hand sign and closing their eyes to do what they were told.

"Once you think you got it, expand your image to your own skin, like putting it on and wearing it as a suit. You'll need an extra chakra push for that, but not much. Too much, and you'll mess something up. Once you've changed, you have to use a little chakra to keep it up, and you just have to drop that in order to get rid of it."

Both girls nodded, and Naruto backed off to watch. He was smirking at his students.

No one ever got it on the first shot.

A second later, Fury and Loor sent out their own bursts of smoke as they preformed the jutsu in silence. The girls then looked at each other to see how it went.

"Uh... Fury, I admit that I'm an early bloomer, but my boobs aren't _that_ big." Loor was giggling. She knew, at the age of thirteen, that she was a B cup. Well... these were D sized, and were obviously out of proportion. Loor looked Fury up and down to see that her freckles were nowhere to be seen, her skin was far too pale, and her hair was way too long. Besides that and the boob job, it generally looked like Loor.

Fury raised an eyebrow at her own friend. "Well... I can't say you did much better with my hair and my boobs, which don't exist."

"Hey! I'm used to having 'em!" Loor snapped in defense of the fact that her Fury transformation had all silver hair that was too short, boobs, and the wrong color eyes.

"Not bad for first timers!" Naruto gave with a grin. He was obviously proud of himself. "Now practice! I have to go do something, and I'll be right back!"

Fury watched as Naruto ran off, cocking her head to the side as she turned back into herself. "What was that about...?"

Loor snickered, reverting in her own little cloud. "Probably forgot about playing ninja with Kony again. He seems to do that pretty often."

"True enough... I guess..." Fury sighed, reassuming her stance to try again. "So... you met up with Gaara last night? What happened?"

"Well, I don't think 'met up' is quite the term. More like he followed me." Loor snickered, shaking her head. "Funny... I think he was actually coming to kill me, and then he got all pissed off like 'What did you do to me' and all this, just because he didn't want to kill me. Made a big deal of it too, and then... I donno. I was training, and he just sat there. We argued a little bit, and... it was weird." Loor left out the bit about the Shukaku. She was pretty sure that anything on demons would at once make Fury freak out, since she was a huge paranormal enthusiast. "He's really quiet... and hard to read. It makes me curious, but asking questions could be dangerous."

"Curiosity killed the cat..." Fury muttered, snorting. "Or the wolf."

"True, why do you think I haven't asked him nothin'? Just I keep hearing that he's never left anybody alive before. For all I know... he was lying about not wanting to kill me..."

Fury shot a knowing smirk at her big sister. "Wait up... I've heard something like that before... the expectations of deception would be you trying to throw me off."

"Throw you off of what?" Loor questioned.

"You like him, don't you?"

"What?" Loor asked, raising an eyebrow. Her voice was sharp. "Fury, may I remind you that he's nearly killed me, we've had little to no conversation, and that I hate his guts just for being a guy?"

"And the fact that you want to play a prank on him because he left something behind, even though you know he might kill you for it." Fury knew she was getting the upper hand. "You're curious about him. You're only curious about guys you like."

"What's to like?!" Loor snapped. "He's a monotoned little red headed sand worm with homicidal tendencies who sounds like he just got over the worst cold in history! Not to mention he's twelve!"

Fury giggled. She knew that speech. Loor could come up with a longer list, but Fury wasn't going to go hunting for it. "Alright, alright, no need to rip my head off." Fury gave lightly, going back to practice. "Take it easy, Naruto should be back soon."

"Yeah... I know..." Loor snarled. Fury had put her into the mood for a fight, and then backed off. That was a thing that Loor used when she was trying to get people to hand out information on their own... strange, Fury wasn't picking up on her shit, was she? That would be weird. Fury... deceiving... Loor snorted at the image. Fury hardly had the face for it, not even close. She was _too_ innocent, thus making her suspicious. Not to mention Fury had morals that would cause her to be nervous if she every tried to master the art of BS.

But Fury _was_ wrong. Loor didn't like Gaara. In all honesty, she might have hated him just a little bit. He was more powerful than her, which instantly made her feel belittled. Also, there was the fact that he nearly killed her. But still, curiosity killed those emotions simply because she wanted to know what was going on in that skull of his. It was hard to comprehend a twelve-year-old homicidal maniac, and thus Loor wanted to find out what made him tick.

But she didn't like him. Not even close.

At least, that's what she told herself.

* * *

When Loor was finally able to leave the training grounds, it was with a well-pronounced and victorious flounce. Sure, it took her two hours more than Fury to finally come up with a passable transformation, and an extra hour because she refused to leave before she had perfected it, but she was still happy about it. Anyway, those two hours gave her time to hatch yet another diabolical plan within her strange mind. Of course it was one that was more than likely to get her killed, but she didn't really care about that fact.

She wanted to see something, and she was going to ask for a little help to do it. The first step was finding someone. She knew he would help her, simply because it was the nature she had seen so far, but she needed to find him and ask him anyway. Her mind was left to ponder where he'd be, but she just started walking the various streets of Konoha with her eyes scanning in every direction.

Eventually, turning onto a narrow lane, she glanced into a couple of open buildings that looked to be shops, though only one of them was open. Loor couldn't read the sign, but there was a picture of a half naked woman, so Loor assumed it was an adult shop. As she passed it, she glanced in, and saw exactly who she was looking for. She stopped in the doorway that led inside.

"Kankuro." She gave, grinning.

The boy, who was once again dressed in his fully black outfit and currently checking out some magazine, glanced over at the girl who had just called him out. He stared for a moment, and then turned, putting the smut back on the shelf. "What do you want?"

"Just a little help, annoying your little brother." Loor gave a grin. "I thought I'd ask first."

"What could you do to annoy him?" Kankuro questioned. "I mean, he already seems pissed enough that you're still walking around, but he doesn't do anything to fix that anyway..."

Loor smirked, pulling out an object that at once struck his interest. "I assume you know what this is?" She giggled.

"How did you...?" He stared for a few moments. "How in the world did you get that?"

"I found it." Loor grinned. "In the middle of the woods last night. Thing is, I want to return it to him, but I'd also like to needle him about a few things at the same time... and I can't do that myself."

"So you want me to deliver it and ask questions? Do you want my little brother to kill me?"

"No, no, not at all." She was feeling rather devious. "All I'm asking is for you to cooperate with me."

* * *

"Hey, Gaara, missing something?"

Gaara, who had been standing alone on a back street in Konoha, glanced to his left to see Kankuro walking up. He looked at his elder brother for a few moments, and then to the object in Kankuro's outstretched hand.

"My cork..." Gaara muttered, glancing to the gourd on his back. He had noted it was missing about an hour after his brush with Loor, and did a temporal replacement with the sand. Taking the real one back, he let the sub dissolve. He was about to put the real cork in it's proper place when he noticed that there was something written on it. He stared for several seconds, a non-brow going up. "...'I win'...?"

Kankuro shrugged. "Yeah, your brown eyed girlfriend bumped into me this morning and dropped it, and I thought I might as well give it back."

Gaara gave a thick sigh, putting the cork back into place, aware that the message of 'I win' was on the wide end, and thus would be sticking out until he got something sharp to peel the layer away. "They're blue, Kankuro. Perhaps I should break one of your hands so you don't forget again."

"Hey, I need those for the exams!" Kankuro gave quickly, backing off a little bit. "I was just giving the cork back, okay? You don't have to go and kill me for bein' nice for once. Anyway, I had a question I wanted to ask."

"What?" Gaara's tone was becoming sharp.

"Where _were _you last night before we found you?"

The boy stared at him for several moments, the 'how in the hell is that your business' look evident. "Walking."

"Sure, my little brother left the hotel to go on a walk. Be serious with me here Gaara, where were you?"

"Tracking someone down that I needed to kill... whom I didn't." Gaara turned away from his brother, walking down the street. "Much like now... I fear I might be making a habit of leaving people alive."

Kankuro stared as Gaara went further down the lane. He waited till Gaara turned the corner, and then hefted a huge sigh. "Man... that was weird!"

"You're telling me." Said a voice from around the corner. Kankuro looked back, still looking dejected, to watch... Kankuro walk out from behind the corner.

The first Kankuro reverted back to her original form, Loor standing in the resulting cloud and taking a deep breath. "I was just wondering if he'd lie to his own brother."

"He would, but Gaara doesn't lie very often. He doesn't find anything wrong with telling people what really happened... no matter how gruesome it is." Kankuro, the real one, leaned against the wall. "So, you _did _see him last night. How come you didn't tell me and Temari?"

"Because, I didn't feel like it." Loor giggled, stretching. "Anyway, I would hardly be able to enjoy my spoils if you knew I'd seen him, much less had something of his. Unlike him, I find everything wrong with the truth, and telling it."

Kankuro shook his head slightly, laughing quietly. "You're gonna get yourself killed with that attitude."

"Yeah, I know."

"So, what happened?"

She crossed her arms over her chest, leaning onto the building opposite of him. "Why the hell would you care about that little tid bit of information?"

"Uh, he's my little brother. I think the only people that he knows that he hasn't killed are me, Temari, Baki sensei, and the Kazekage." He shrugged. "I just wanna know how he acts when he's not on a blood rage."

"He's really quiet," Loor snipped. "Who's the Kazekage?"

He gave her a funny look. "Uh... the ruler of the village hidden in the sand and the wind country, where I'm from. He's also my dad."

She heard this sentence, but her brain didn't quite process it all at once. She blinked at him once, and then twice. "Your dad...? You're meaning to tell me you three are like... royal born?"

He cocked his head to the side. "Never thought of it like that... not that dad ever cared for us anyway. But I guess you can say that, since the Kazekage's position is birthright back at home, where it's warrior rights here."

"Loverly..." Loor muttered, turning to walk. "See you later Kankuro... I got stuff to do..."

"Hey, Loor!"

She turned back to look at him. "What?"

"Temari told you to clear out before the finals, right?"

"Yeah... so?"

"Just makin' sure... and you better make sure you do what she says. If you stick around, you might get hurt."

She looked at him for several more moments, and then snorted, turning to walk again. "Yeah, Kankuro, whatever... unless you're gonna tell me what's going down, I ain't leaving."

He didn't yell for her again, he just watched her go.


	26. Byakugan Meets Stave

Only two updates this weekend guys. Don't worry, they're good.

OWTF!!!

**No ownage.**

**Markings- Chapter Twenty Six  
****Byakugan Meets Stave**

Once training ended, Fury returned to the Inuzuka house to find that Kiba was still sleeping. Without thinking, she quickly curled up with him again, finding Akamaru padding into the room after she entered to join the pile. She didn't take long in falling back into dreamland, and though the nap had to last at least two hours it felt more like two seconds before she was woken up by Akamaru being awake and licking her nose.

"Hey..." She muttered at the puppy, cracking an eye open and nipping at the canine nose that was rather close to hers. "Quit it..."

"He's hungry..." Kiba grumbled, coming back into the land of the living. "He won't leave off till I feed him..."

"Then why is he licking _me?_" Fury yawned. "You feed him, he should be licking you... right?"

Akamaru whined, as if to reply, and Kiba chuckled. "He says he didn't want to crawl on you to get to me." He snorted. "Just be happy he ain't nipping you like he would me. They may be puppy teeth, but they hurt."

"How old is he, actually?" Fury asked. "You don't act like you just got him..."

Kiba nodded, letting go of her and going to sit up and stretch. At once, Akamaru bounded over Fury to bark at his owner. "He's a couple years, but his breed ages really slow, not to mention we give him a few supplements and stuff in his food to slow it down even more so he won't outgrow himself. Thing with his breed is that, if treated right, they'll get pretty big. Mum says that it may be a few more years, but he'll develop the ability to talk, and I have been giving him all the right stuff, so he'll get bigger than your average horse."

Fury looked at the little puppy in Kiba's lap. Bigger than a horse? She'd believe it when she saw it. She flopped back onto the pillows as Kiba left to feed his dog, quickly gathering up the blankets into a big ball around herself, once again becoming the demented turtle. By the time Kiba had come back, she was faking sleep and trying not to laugh as he quietly groaned under his breath.

She had her eyes closed, but could hear him walking over. Oddly enough, he didn't go to shake her. No, she felt him pulling at the blankets at the other end and taking a hold of one of her feet when he found it within the strange cocoon.

Uh oh.

"Sleep through this..." He muttered, dragging a claw-like nail up her foot. At once, she shrieked and tried to yank her foot away, but that was no good. And, because of the blankets, she couldn't properly kick at him.

"Alright! I give!" Fury yelped, seeing as Kiba at once began to tickle her foot without mercy. "Enough!" She was giggling her ass off. "You win!!"

"You should have thought of that before you stole all of the blankets." He gave simply, still continuing the treatment he was giving her.

"Kiba!!" She was trying to push the blankets off, but it was like trying to yank a digit out of a finger trap. "Please, stop it!"

"Okay." He suddenly let go, smirking. This shocked Fury, whose knee shot back up into the mass of bedding since she had been pulling so hard.

"What...?" she asked, lifting her head up.

"You said please." He gave with a smirk, getting back up. "Now, if you don't mind getting out of your shell, I think it's a good time to go get lunch."

"How would you know...?" Fury yawned again, worming out of her strange self-entrapment. "You don't even have a clock in here."

"Simple, if Akamaru's hungry it's usually at the same time that I'm hungry, which means its lunch time. The usual?" He smirked as she got up, asking quickly while yanking his coat on. "I mean, there are other places in Konoha if you're getting bored of Ichiraku's..."

Fury finally came loose from her fort, lying on her belly for an extra few moments. "Naw... I love ramen too much to get bored of it."

For some odd reason, Kiba started laughing the second she wormed herself out. She looked up at him, giving him a look, before looking back and realizing that while her hips had come loose, her pants hadn't. She yelped, quickly yanking the blue pants back over her care-bear print underwear, blushing and getting up quickly. "W-w-w-well... let's go already!" She was well aware that her face was bright red, and ducked slightly so that her hair would hide that fact.

Kiba was still trying to sober up. "Sure... just wait for my sides to recover..."

She punched him in the shoulder. "Kiba... be nice..." She muttered, hoping that her face would cool off soon.

He snickered. "Sorry... but you should see your face. You look like Hinata." He smirked, leading the way out of the house. "Only you don't have a headband to hide behind."

She shrugged. "Well... I usually don't put my underwear out for show."

"Well, it could have been worse."

"How so?" She asked.

"Your underwear could have gotten stuck too, and then I would have seen your ass."

That was true. She started giggling, and he chuckled. "Glad that didn't happen..." She muttered. She probably would have set something on fire with her face if that had happened. As that thought crossed her mind, the two were stopped by the sound of panicked barking behind them. Kiba stopped to look, so Fury stopped, to see Akamaru on a full run out of the house to get to Kiba, taking a flying leap at his owner.

Kiba started laughing. "We can't even leave the house without you, can we?" He asked the dog, shaking his head as he caught him and let his puppy crawl into his hood. "He's got separation issues."

"Ya think?" Fury giggled, watching as the puppy had almost disappeared into Kiba's hood, curled up and whimpering. "Poor Akamaru... I'm sorry." She went to walk behind Kiba, reaching a hand into the hood to light scratch the dog's ears, which at once brought the puppy's head up, tail wagging behind him.

"Geez he likes you..." Kiba snickered. "And I thought only I could cheer him up like that."

"I told you I like animals... it's just they usually don't like me." She lifted Akamaru out of Kiba's hood so she could walk even with the dog boy and pet the dog. "On the other hand, it's all cats at home."

"_Cats?_" Kiba sounded a little disgusted. "No offense, but dogs are better."

"How so?" Fury questioned, giving him a look. She had never had the 'one race is better than another race' fight with anyone. She thought it was equal, and comparing the two was like comparing a banana with a tomato.

"Dogs are loyal, social, always there when you need a hug, bond to their owners, and need a friend as much as their owner does. Cats are selfish, way too independent, and only care about the person who feeds them for a few moments every day when they're yet to be fed." Kiba snorted. "Honestly, it's no contest."

"Yeah it is." Fury gave. "Cats are clean, quiet, and some are really social!" Fury didn't mention that there was not a single social cat at her home. They all ran when she tried to hold them. "They're funny to watch when you have a toy for them, and some are so stupid when they think they're clever. Dogs are loud, you have to brush them yourself, and some would bite you as soon as look at you."

The two stared at each other for several moments, and Kiba's eyes tracked down to the fact that Fury was still the one carrying Akamaru and petting him. She noticed his gaze, and felt herself blush. "Well... uh... Hehe?" She shrugged. "Okay, I guess it might be no contest..." She nuzzled her face into Akamaru's stomach for a moment. "It's just they're so dang cute!"

"Yeah, while he's little. Just wait till he gets big."

"Speaking of, a dog the size of a horse is gonna be tough to brush."

Kiba shrugged. "I'm hoping that by then... I'll have some help." He looked over, putting a hand on Akamaru's head. "You know they say, misery loves company? Well, so do people who are happy. Everyone loves company. I like having people around, and Akamaru does too. I think that's a pro and con about all dogs... we can't stand to be alone in the world."

Fury looked at him, questioning in how he said 'we.' He didn't mean dogs; he was also referring to himself. "Why not?" She ventured to ask.

"We're afraid it's always gonna be that way. That's why Akamaru panics. He knows how much I need him, but he's always scared somethin' will happen to me while he's not around and I won't come back."

"But doesn't he know better?" Fury almost yelped this question. Sure, Akamaru was a dog, but he had proven to be just as complex as any human so far. That meant he had to have some sense between his furry ears.

Kiba chuckled. "Doesn't mean he don't worry."

"I wouldn't worry that much about you..." Fury muttered. "You're pretty strong..."

"I'm still working on it." Kiba gave, the conversation pausing as they arrived at Ichiraku's and the two of them sat down, ordering quickly and then sitting in silence till Fury opened up the airways again, still cradling Akamaru in one arm.

"You think I'll ever catch up to Loor?" She asked this quietly, looking down at the puppy in her arms, who was completely relaxed at the belly rub he was getting. "She was already stronger than me..."

Kiba shrugged. "I've seen you two go at it once or twice. Personally. I'd say you two are equal. She's great with hand to hand, which is essential, but you kick her ass at anything involving chakra simply because she doesn't seem comfortable using it. It's almost like she doesn't want to, and it's not cause she's bad at it."

Fury nodded. "I think she looks at it like steroids or something, something that makes things easier than they should be. It almost makes me feel bad... since it's the first thing I've been good at in a long time..."

"Whadda mean? Everyone's good at lots of things." Kiba seemed confused at how depressed she was sounding. "I've seen first hand how you picked this ninja stuff up, and you're great at it. You have to be good at other stuff too."

"I guess..." She hefted a sigh. "I mean... sure, I draw a little bit, but Loor beats me out at that all the time. Even when she says that I do stuff she could never do, I always feel like she _has_ to be better or something... not to mention I don't think my mom ever told me I was really good at something. She always yells at me for what I do wrong..."

Kiba stared at her for a few moments, and then grabbed her chin, forcing her to look up. His grip was wide, as if he were gripping a dog under the muzzle. "Fury," He gave, making sure he had full eye contact. "You're good at a lot of things. You've got talent in genjutsu, and your ninjutsu isn't half bad either. You should be proud of that."

The two sat like that for a few moments, and then the silence was broken by the chink of bowls against the counter. The meal was up, and Kiba let go as they both began to laugh, getting their chopsticks.

But Fury would remember that... she was good at something.

And someone had noticed.

* * *

Loor sighed, her wooden practice weapon laced through the back of her bra as a make shift holster, the same way the one at home would be carried. It was a particular familiarity that she enjoyed greatly, the rub of the wood grain against her back that she missed a great deal. As she walked the forest areas of Konoha, it made her relax, almost being able to visualize the woods back home, despite the behemoth trees and thicker wildlife.

Of course, there was something to keep her away from a fully relaxed state. She was looking for Lee, who hadn't been at the apartment, so she assumed he was training with his team. She still had some fight left in her, so she thought she'd spend the rest of her day training with him. The way to the clearing she had seen the team in before was one that she didn't know like the back of her hand, but one she could trip though with only getting lost twice. The last leg of the journey had been marked by the sound of metal hitting wood; the girl from Lee's team was doing target practice again. The other sounds were blows landing on a tree, which Loor had to assume, was Lee himself.

Well... no.

She arrived in the clearing to find that she had been right about the girl, TenTen was throwing small hand weapons at targets painted upon logs that had been set up instead of living trees. Loor noted that every single one of these weapons struck either on or near the bull's-eye, regardless to the fact that TenTen had to be at least thirty feet away. The other person in the clearing wasn't Lee; it was Neji, looking to be working over a tree with his bare hands.

Loor entered the clearing, and both people looked at her for a moment. At once, Neji went back to work, ignoring her. Loor noticed that all of his blows were open handed, made with the blunt of his palm.

TenTen was a little friendlier. "Hi Loor, we haven't seen you in a while." She smiled. "What brings ya down here?"

"Lookin' for Lee." Loor replied, glancing about. "Haven't seen him, have you?"

"Nope." TenTen shrugged. "Pretty sure Gai sensei took him off somewhere. They do one-on-one training all the time."

"Hum..." Loor sighed, shrugging. "Oh well... I was finished with Kakashi's team for today, so I thought I'd come and see Lee for an extra work out, but I can do it by myself. It's just more fun when I have someone to talk to."

"I know." TenTen giggled, shaking her head. "Too bad Neji isn't much of a talker."

At the mention of his name, Neji stopped beating up the tree and looked over at TenTen. "I'm working, what would be the point of conversation?" He asked sharply.

"Glad to see you still have a stick firmly up your ass." Loor gave with a sarcastic drawl.

"Shut up and get a shirt on." Neji hissed back, glaring.

"Neji!" TenTen intercepted the glare, reflecting it. "You can't order her around like she's some little kid."

"Well... I _am_ younger than you guys by a year..."

TenTen glanced back at Loor. "You are?" She asked, glancing Loor up and down. "I just thought you were kinda short..."

"Yeah, the breasts fool all." Loor shrugged. "Can't help it. As for getting a shirt, I don't own one besides that hooded shirt I got, and it's too damn warm for that. Not to mention I don't have any money."

Neji shook his head, leaning against the tree he had been beating up. "No money, no skill, and no sense. Why am I not surprised?"

Loor growled. "You got something to prove, buddy boy?" She growled, glaring.

"Ready when you are, you stupid little girl."

'Stupid' 'little' and 'girl' were not terms to use in derogatory towards Loor. She felt all three of those words strike a very sensitive nerve, jerking her stave out of the back of her bra and into her hand, twisting it. "Why don't you open your eyes so you can watch me beat your brains out?!" She snarled.

"If you fight me, you are fated to lose. I won't even have to try." He cracked one white eye open, smirking. "That is, unless you want me to kill you."

TenTen moved to stand between the two, putting her arms out. "Whoa, whoa! Neji, stop being a jerk, and Loor, tone it down a few pegs! We're all on the same side here, we don't need to go killing each other!"

"What makes him so damn bad anyway?! I already went up against Hinata, and she's got the same funky eyes going on!" Loor glared at Neji. "What's so damn special about the byakugan?"

Neji smirked. Loor had a feeling he was quite proud of the upper hand his ability gave him. "The byakugan has no blind spots, giving the user a full three hundred sixty degree field of view. The byakugan sees all, regardless of what it blocking it, and with proper usage will highlight a person's chakra network for the user to strike." Neji snickered. "There are hundreds of points on your body, in your body, that the Gentle Fist can attack without hardly bruising your body."

"Gentle Fist?" Loor asked. How could a fist be gentle and still be effected?

TenTen joined the conversation. "Neji is part of the Hyuga clan, which is why he has the byakugan. It's a kekkei genkai based in the eyes that also allows for a fighting style only a byakugan user can master called the gentle fist. It's why he fights with open palms. Instead of attack the body, like most users of taijutsu, he releases a little of his own chakra to muss with a person's chakra network. There are various points all over this network that he can attack, either turning off the flow of chakra or raising it, depending on what's to his benefit."

Loor took this information in, and then smirked. "Well then, I wouldn't have issues with fighting him because I don't use chakra in general. I don't need it."

Neji gave a shake of his head. "Fool. This network is infused with every part of your body. If, say, I attacked the four points around your heart and stopped the flow, your heart would stop. Don't tell me you're immune to that?"

Loor growled, taking a step to go around TenTen, who moved again to block her. "Maybe not, but tell me you're immune to my whacking you over the head!"

"With a practice weapon?" He smirked. "How puny."

"Don't underestimate me!" She snarled, once again trying to step around TenTen, who just kept moving to block her. "If you're so big, why don't you get your skinny ass off of that tree and prove it!!"

"I prefer to laugh at your stupidity."

"That's it!" Loor growled, using the stave that was already in hand to strike the back of TenTen's knees to make her buckle, not to hurt her, and vault over the girl, charging at Neji, weapon upraised.

Neji came off of the tree enough to spin quickly, dealing a kick into her stomach that would have brought her lunch up, had she eaten any that day, making her fly several feet, back over TenTen, who was just getting back up.

He walked past her without even offering a hand, looking down at Loor with those sharp white eyes. "Do you think you can beat me when you couldn't even best Hinata?" Neji seemed insulted by this. "That's beyond pathetic."

Loor, who was also getting to her feet, was still on her hands and knees, holding her stomach. Damn that hurt! That wasn't a Gentle Fist technique that was a real kick, so Neji still had muscle to back it up. Nice to know. "The reason I lost to Hinata a month ago... is because I wasn't strong enough, true..." She stayed down, waiting for him to do something. She was playing possum. "But I'm not that way anymore."

"Then get up." Neji challenged. "I'm above kicking people while they're down."

Just as Loor had pushed herself to her feet, a kunai knife that had been thrown went right under Neji's nose, actually striking blood at the edge that separated the nostrils.

"Enough, both of you." TenTen spat, glaring. "Next time, Neji, they'll be a lot more blood, and you'll have a new nose piercing."

Both of them had looked over at TenTen, and then back at each other, both Loor and Neji holding glares. "You just wait, Neji." Loor spat, being the first to break away. "Before I leave... you'll look up at me from a hospital bed I put you in."

"I highly doubt it, Loor." Neji gave, smirking as she left. "But you can try."

TenTen sighed as Loor left the clearing, on her way to somewhere else. "God... she's almost as bad as Lee."

Neji snickered, shaking his head. "No... she's worse. Lee never vowed to hospitalize me."


	27. Defender

And that's the end of this weekend. See you punks next friday.

Peace.

**No ownage.**

OWTF!!!

**Markings- Chapter Twenty Seven  
****Defender**

_**You little son of a bitch...**_

Gaara had been alone as the moon rose, sitting atop the hotel that he and his siblings were staying at, when Shukaku decided to speak to him once more. At first, the boy attempted at ignoring it, but the voice seemed to echo through his mind, dragging him against his will to that weak feeling, that feeble form, looking up at the great beast that was his demon. Still, even being forced into his own mind, he tried to make himself feel strong, feeling his little arms around the teddy bear being his only comfort.

_What do you want now?_ He didn't like his voice, and wished it to sound older, stronger, but he couldn't feel it being that way. It wasn't capable of doing so unless he felt it, and the Shukaku had a way of making sure he always felt weak when he was here.

_**You know what I want! **_Shukaku, obviously, wasn't happy, coming down to Gaara's level and shoving the boy over with his massive snout. _**That damned girl, dead! What's wrong with you anyway, letting her touch you like that?!**_

Gaara landed hard on his butt, nearly dropping his toy, but gripping hard as not to lose it, as if dropping the teddy bear would let it sink into some unseen void forever. _I-I... I don't want to kill her..._ He defended himself quietly. _It feels good..._

_**Good?**_ Shukaku snorted. _**Since when did you have any concept of that?**_

Gaara forced himself to stand. _Since it didn't hurt me._

_**And how do you know what hurts you and what doesn't?!**_ Shukaku shook his head, going back to his hind legs to tower over Gaara, and then morphing slightly. It's form, and it's voice, shrank to a much more comforting tone and size. In seconds, it wasn't much taller than Gaara, and much less frightening. The raccoon bounded over to him with ease. _**Gaara you know me... when did I ever push you the wrong way? Why would I ask you to do something that isn't good?**_ His voice had taken on the caring parent that Gaara never had, golden eyes liquid pools that invited the boy to lose himself and relax.

Gaara stared at what his demon had become. He had slight memories of this small creature, but they gave no hints to the creature's motives and it's usage. Perhaps Gaara was simply misjudging the creature in his head. Slowly, much like Loor's hand had come to Gaara's forehead before, a small six-year-old hand reached out to pet Shukaku behind one ear. _You wouldn't... _His small voice gave. _You never have..._

_**Exactly.**_ Shukaku purred, head arching up to the boy's little hand. _**So you know that what I'm telling you must be right, because I would never lead you wrong.**_ _**I've known you for the longest too, since before you were born, so I would know what's best, right? **_Away from Gaara's sight, one paw reached for the teddy, to take it away, claws out as if to rend it into several pieces.

_Of course..._ Gaara's hand paused, having a slight inkling of the paw. _But... I--_

_**But what?**_ Shukaku's head rose, a gold eye threatening to glare at the child. The paw froze, half outstretched.

_It doesn't feel right... I don't want to kill her._

Shukaku growled. _**Shall we discuss this on the full moon?!**_ He snorted, shaking off the idle hand and slamming the paw down on the ground, nicking the teddy, stuffing catching on his claws. _**You know what happens then!! She's made you weak and vulnerable, people will use that. She is hurting you! **_

The hand came back to Gaara, and at once went to clutch the teddy. _Please no... She's... she's not frightened. Why would you want me to kill someone who isn't scared? You told me to kill the others... because their fear hurt me..._

_**She's scared too.**_ Shukaku began to prowl around him. _**Somewhere, deep inside, she's terrified of you, just like everyone else. You should kill her before that fear can hurt you. **_

_I don't want to!!_ The voice was that of a child near throwing a tantrum. _I don't understand why, but I understand that I don't want to kill her! Can't I make one choice for myself?!_

_**Oh, like when you had chosen to listen to your uncle about love? Or when you chose to go to that child's house and say you were sorry?**_

Gaara felt the memory flash through his mind within a second, bringing him too his knees. Any strength he had brought up was ripped away by the two traumatic memories. He bent over, hiding his tears from the Shukaku, stroking the rips in the bear's foot, his clumsy fingers pulling out some of the stuffing on accident.

_**Tell me Gaara, what happened?**_

No answer.

_**What happened?!**_ Shukaku demanded.

_The... the child slammed the door in my face... and Yashamaru tried to kill me... and I attacked him... and he died..._

_**Yes... he died telling you the truth you never wanted to hear after lying mere hours before.**_ Shukaku approached. _**When he finally told you the truth, that your mother never loved you, you accepted me.**_ He sat near Gaara, using a paw to lift Gaara's head up and swipe his hair out of the way, to view the scar that was even upon the child's mental version. _**And vowed to only love yourself, since you were the only person you could trust.**_

_But... _

_**But what? You expect that girl to be any different? You think she won't slam the door in your face? She's yet to see what you are, any example of how different you are. Once she does, her fear will come to the surface, and you will have left yourself wide open for the pain.**_

Gaara stared at Shukaku's gold eyes for several moments, the smaller, kinder, version that was trying to fool him. He then yanked his head away. _If that is what happens... then the mistake is my own, and I will kill her... but it will be on my own choices._

Shukaku stared at him for several moments, and gave a snort, turning his snout away from his host. Gaara came back to himself, gasping, nearly ripping his own hair out, on his knees. His blue eyes were wild in glancing in every direction. Why was it so hard to fight something that wasn't even natural to him??

He hadn't felt this way in six years... What had that girl done to him?!

* * *

"Not bad! You ready to call it a night yet?"

Fury sat on her ass, looking up, panting. She had come, after lunch, for some extra training with Kiba. She'd practiced the transformation jutsu for a while, learning the next step and changing into things that weren't human shape. Of course, these were tougher, and Akamaru was a bitch to turn into, pun intended. Still, after she was able to get the 'four legs and fur' part right, they went to tree climbing with a twist.

It was the same chakra control concept, of course. The first step was to walk up a tree to a branch that Kiba marked with a slash of a kunai knife. Once on this branch, there were four more on the same level that were each about five feet apart, Kiba standing on the last one. The point was to jump between them without stopping or falling.

Fury had more bruises on her ass than she wanted to count, since she was yet to make it past the third branch. She'd hop to the first one, trip on the second, and get caught on her ribs on the third, landing flat on her butt each and every time. They had been there for hours, and she was shaking along with sweating. She hurt from all the hits her ribs and rear had taken, and she knew she didn't have a whole lot of chakra left.

"Sure..." She sighed, hefting a deep breath and pushing herself off of the ground. Akamaru, who had been sitting on the ground for a while, yipped and jumped at her, barking to be picked up and held. She giggled, slowly cradling the puppy and hefting a heavy yawn. She was tired, and they had stayed out for a while. The moon had begun to rise, which meant Loor was probably somewhere else in the woods training. Just because Loor worshiped her own insomnia didn't mean that Fury did too. She was more casual in her practice of nighttime activities.

Kiba jumped down, also yawning. "Geez... you'd think we'd be charged after a nap in the middle of the day, but I'm done..."

"Yeah, tell me about it..." Fury nuzzled Akamaru, turning down the path to walk. "On the other hand, I have a right to be done."

"Good point. I just sat there and laughed at you." He smirked. "The only things that got a workout were my sides."

She smacked the back of his head, growling. "C'mon, tell me no one falls the first time they do it?"

"No, everyone falls the first time." Kiba shrugged. "It's just that everyone else around here first tried tree hopping when we learned how to properly jump, which is around the age of eight. To watch a pre teen do it..." He snickered. "It's pretty funny."

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, dog boy... My birthday isn't that far off... I think."

"You think?"

"I haven't looked at a calendar in forever. My birthday is November sixteenth."

"Oh, so you got two more months, since it's September." He then got a smirk. "So when did Loor turn thirteen? Two years ago?"

"She wishes." Fury snickered, scratching Akamaru's belly. "No... she..." Fury paused. Something occurred to her that hadn't before. The night that they had witnessed the murder of Loor's family was the eve of Loor's birthday, or it was Loor's birthday since it was past midnight.

That was a horrible birthday gift...

"Fury...?" Kiba asked slowly. "Oh... uh... sorry. I didn't mean to--"

"No... She turned thirteen the day we arrived..."

Kiba nodded. "Then what's up with the look? You got this face goin' on that says you're about to start crying."

"Kiba... we went straight to the hospital when we arrived for a reason." Fury paused. She wasn't sure she should say. Loor didn't like Kiba that much, but the memory was Fury's as well. She had full right to say it, since she was there. "That night, me and Loor were out sparring. When we came back to her house... something was wrong. We didn't know what, but when we walked up, you could just feel it, y'know?" She sighed. "We went around the back... someone had gone into the house, and Loor went up first..." The drama of the memory played out in Fury's head, making her wince. "Loor watched two men, one being a man named Orochimaru, kill her family, not to mention slice the family dog in half... I watched too... and it made me sick." She let a long breath go. "I... hate to admit this, but I passed out. Orochimaru had another guy with him, one that went to attack me when Loor tried to fight his boss. I... I got scared, and passed out. The last thing I remember was Loor's brother and sister coming out of the house and someone dropping out of nowhere to protect me."

Fury slowly realized she was shaking. Kiba slowly put an arm around her shoulder, petting his dog with the other hand and pulling her closer as they kept walking. "That's horrible..." He gave, looking down. Akamaru whimpered too, licking Fury's hand in a sympathetic way.

"Loor thinks she can take that Orochimaru guy on... no, she knows she can't, but she's determined to anyway."

"Sounds like her. Headstrong as ever."

"It's not that..." Fury sighed. "She wants to protect me. That's why I have to get powerful, so she can stop worrying."

Kiba shook his head. "You'd be better off to team up."

"Huh? We're already a team."

"Not really." Kiba smirked, easing Akamaru out of Fury's arms, as the puppy had dozed off. After getting the dog into his hood, he returned to explaining. "Loor feels like she has to protect you all the time, more like you're a charge than you are a partner, and you wanna prove to her that you don't need it. That's not a team, that's two people fighting. When you think about it, she's like a big powerful but old wolf, and you're like a quick little pup."

"You had to put it to dogs, didn't you?" Fury gave, giggling.

"Hey, you tell what you know, right? Now listen. Sure, Loor's pretty fast on her feet and she'll knock you into next Tuesday if you give her the chance, but she's an old dog that can't learn new tricks. You, on the other hand, can run circles around her anyway and, even if you can't hit that hard, you're willing to learn new ways to hit. You follow?"

"You're saying we make up for each other's shortcomings?"

"Yeah." He nodded. "All you need is a person who's got the middle ground between you and a sensei and you'd have a three man team."

"Kabuto mentioned that he wouldn't be surprised to see me doing the chunnins in a year..."

Kiba tried not to feel possessive, but he was being just about as successful as the girl who was shadowing them in the trees; a girl with blue eyes, blond hair, and a wooden practice stave.

* * *

Loor was going to kill something.

She was alone again, within her usual clearing, practicing strikes with her stave on a tree, constantly shifting her hold as to stay versatile. The main point of her fighting style was to avoid pattern and keep her opponent guessing. It didn't matter how she held it though. All of her strikes bore too much power, jarring her wrists as she struck for the simple matter of her inner frustration. She had heard the whole conversation between Fury and Kiba. From Fury telling what happened with her family, to the realization that _had _been her birthday, to how Kiba had put Loor's faults so simply.

But the worst of it, in her mind, was that casual arm he had cast over Fury's shoulders. That was the worst. Her little sister seemed quite taken with the dog boy, and it drove her crazy!! Loor didn't hate Scruffy, but...

The speed of Loor's attacks on the tree increased. On the surface of Loor's argument against men, it was always the fact that they treated women different just because of her gender. Seeing as she related better with men than she did with women, she didn't like a guy treating her different just because she had a little extra flesh on the chest and none between the legs. If a guy ran around opening doors and pulling chairs out for Loor, she'd probably kill him. The only reason Lee got away with it is because she knew he could wipe the floor with her.

"So why do you win?"

Loor's fevered and overdone attack missed a beat, going past her target and twisting her around on the follow through. She turned on her heel, and lost her balance, falling back into the tree. Panting, slightly surprised at being snuck up on, stared at the intruder that had once again invaded her training area.

"You really don't sleep, do you? Do ya at least have a home to go to, or something?"

Gaara was once again standing there, cold blue eyes staring, arms crossed across his chest. "Answer my question first." He gave the quiet command, his voice calm. Loor attempted to read him, but couldn't. Let me say that again; _Loor_ attempted to read him, but _couldn't._ Since when? Loor could always read people, but she drew a blank looking at him.

Finally, she sighed. "It's just a joke. There's no reason for me winning, I was just bein' funny."

She noticed a slight change in his posture. He had straightened, as if he had just figured out something. "So I was right."

"Eh...?" She cocked her head to one side.

"Kankuro didn't give this back to me, did he?"

She smirked, lifting her back off of the tree that she had been beating up. "You caught me. I just wanted to know what your reaction would be without me handing it off."

"And question me on something you already knew."

"I had to see something." She replied, turning back to the tree and getting her stave again. Her arms were sore, but she didn't care.

"That being?"

"If you were as full of shit as I was." Her stave cracked against the trunk of the tree, loud into the still night. "I lie to just about everyone I meet at least once, just to keep things to m'self and all that. Never liked how the truth sounded, so I tell people what they _want_ to hear because that's the one lie they'll never argue with."

He noticed that her stave didn't move after contacting the trunk once. She had stopped in her training, talking to him. "Do I distract you?"

"You confuse me." She corrected. "There's a difference. I have a thousand questions, and I know I shouldn't ask them. You're just another person, not my friend, and not one of my people that I'm trying to help. You're just..." She snorted, giving a quick turn to knock her stave against the tree with a little extra power, feeling it all the way up to her shoulders. "Someone who tried to kill me, and just keeps following me at night like some stray puppy that got fed once and is still looking for one more meal."

She turned around to ask him if he understood, and found him exactly five inches away from her. She yelped. "What the--- good morning!" She said 'good morning' like one would say 'holy shit' or some other obscenity. "You move like a shadow or somethin'... "

"I've been killing people since I was born, you learn to be quiet." His voice was a hissing whisper, those orbs staring at her, as if waiting for something.

Loor noticed that at close proximity, he had let something of his guard drop. She could read a little on his face, though it was very small, and it was only because he allowed her to. He wanted something, but she wasn't quite sure what at first.

She stared at his eyes, as their quality had changed. In her own terms, he was wounded, badly. She could see it, even in the pinprick of emotion he had let to the surface. What he wanted was something against the pain, and apparently he blamed her for its return. Somehow, his not killing her had reopened this wound.

Slowly, she realized what he wanted.

He let out a very small smile as she placed her hand on his forehead. It wasn't just fingertips this time, but her whole palm. His blackened eyes closed as one hand laced her practice weapon through her only upper garment so the hand was free. "Does this... help at all?" She asked slowly.

He didn't speak, humming under his breath, a singular nod, as not to disturb the feeling of her hand against his head.

He felt the Shukaku's anger... but didn't care. Why was she so bad anyway? If Gaara didn't know better, he'd say Shukaku was... afraid of Loor, or at least what she did for him.

Loor noticed him sinking from the surface, and made an effort to call him back. "Are you going to tell me what happened six years ago?"

His eyes came slightly open, a thoughtful look, as her hand on his head had broken any form of his controlling what she could see and what she couldn't. "I'm not sure you want to know."

She snickered, a sound he found quite interesting. "Dude, I'm asking, that means I want to know."

There were several seconds, and Loor saw as he faded from his own face. It was almost as if what little color was there drained away, icy eyes going dead.

He started to shake. He was struggling with something, something inside of himself. Loor stared, and at once seized his shoulder with her free hand; an impulse to help. It was her nature, and one she clearly couldn't fight. If she saw someone hurt, she had to help them. She had to.

"Gaara...?" She questioned, staring, trying to get him to still as his hands fisted. "What's going on?!"

He didn't reply, ripping away from her. His small, almost frail, form seemed to cower from an unknown force as he drove his palms against his own face, grabbing his hair, trying to rip it out.

That's when Loor realized it.

"The Shukaku... it doesn't want me to know, does it?" She mused this more to herself, approaching him again. He had fallen, the gourd overbalancing him when he had pulled away from her. "It doesn't want anyone to help you..."

The shaking deterred, but only slightly. He was breathing hard, looking up at her, his eyes wild and almost not his own. "Get away from me..." He hissed at her.

Her next action was her nature again, her hand going out to him. She was desperate. She could never stand to see someone, anyone, in pain. It wouldn't have mattered if it was her worst enemy in the world... she had to help. "But--"

"Leave!" He raised his voice, sand flowing out of the gourd on the simple whim of his mind, forcing her to do as he commanded by forming into a solid and thick rope and hitting her to throw her away, probably further damaging her ribs that had already been bruised on previous occasions. It knocked the wind out of her, and she fell hard several feet away.

Some quality of his voice struck her... almost like two people speaking through the same mouth.

She looked at him again, seeing the way he clutched his own head, curling upon himself. This was her fault! Whatever happened six years ago had to be a horrible trauma, and the Shukaku was probably using it against Gaara to try and force him to do something.

To kill her.

She got up, forcing herself to her feet. "I'm not scared of you."

The shaking had returned, and become violent. Now it was clear, an overpowering voice over Gaara's deeper, smoother one. "Say that when you're dead!"

She had begun to cover the ground that she had flown over when hit, trying to ignore the fact that it hurt to breath. She stood over his crumpled form, and bent over, crouching over his bent head. "I'll say it again, _Gaara._" She addressed him, not his demon. "I'm not scared of you."

Her hands came to his shoulders, trying to force him up, well aware of his struggle. There was no way she could understand it, but at least she knew what was doing it.

After a few more seconds, the shaking subsided, and he looked at her. His eyes were confused, along with the rest of his posture.

Gaara's thoughts went to one thing; the Shukaku had never tried that hard in escape unless it was a full moon. It had nearly overpowered him, the inferior feeling of his memories nearly putting him under. It wasn't that Loor had saved him, but she could have certainly saved herself by just addressing him directly. He would never give himself up to the true form unless it was a full moon, but Shukaku was about to have his way with the sand.

Shukaku was planning on crushing her, and it would not have been a quick death. Gaara had felt his intentions of doing it very slowly, probably breaking each bone individually, staring with her fingers and working down to her ribs, making sure to keep her alive till he crushed her skull, and then using the sand to rip apart the body to the point that it could not be recognized, nothing more than a red stain on the grass.

Such madness... Knowing these things only let Gaara question her, and such a question was expressed in two very small, simple words.

"...why me?"

He expected her to puzzle over the question, but she giggled at him, shrugging. "Shit happens... sometimes, we don't have a choice in what happens in our lives."

"You mean fate?" He questioned.

She snorted. "Fuck no. I mean other people's decisions effecting lives. The main point is that when you can make your own decisions is to make the right ones... though I should venture to guess that everyone's definition of 'right' is different. For me, the right thing to do is the one that helps those around me... keeps them safe from pain."

He noticed that her hands were yet to leave his shoulders. Her grip was like iron, and he shifted slightly to show discomfort. At once, her fingers loosened, and dropped away. "Sorry..." She got up. "I... I'll be going."

He got up quickly, only fresh out of his memory. He wanted to say something, and took a step after her, being able to feel himself from six years ago. He opened his mouth to say something he would never think of saying, and she looked. Her eyes, electric blue, could see that he wanted to say something, and she formed herself to listen. She gave a small smile, to comfort him.

"I didn't mean to hurt you." He said quietly. Not quite what he wanted to say, but close.

She smiled at him, her voice kind. "No worries. I've had worse."

With that, she turned, waving over her shoulder.

He felt frozen as she left, unsure of what to do.


	28. Substatution

Once again, I am a day early. Yeah, you people (person) don't care much, do ya? (I say person because only one person on fanfiction reviews this fic, which means that my summery really sucks and I'm not seeing it, or I attract a lot of really lazy readers.)

Oh well, moving on. Four chapters, and a fifth on Friday.

**No ownage.**

OWTF!!!

**Markings- Chapter Twenty Eight  
****Substitution**

When Fury woke up the next morning, she expected someone to be in the room aside from Kiba. She had expected Hana to be standing there with a sisterly grin, or something among those lines. When she opened her eyes, she _did_ see a pair of feet, wearing the blue open toe shoes that everyone wore around here. Following this person up, on the other hand, Fury found the person in the room was much shorter than Hana, and quite a bit younger, with blond hair, blue eyes, and a wooden weapon strung across her back.

"...Loor?" Fury gave slowly, staring, just a little shocked. "How did you--"

"Naruto told me where Kiba lived, and Hana let me in." Loor answered quickly, her voice stern. "May I ask what the hell you're doing?"

"Sleeping." Fury replied, snuggling her head back into her pillow, which was Kiba's chest in all honesty.

Loor growled. "There's a boy in your bed."

"Actually, it's his bed. Mine was over there..." Fury pointed towards an area where the mass of stuff on the floor had reclaimed space. "But it disappeared."

"Fury!" Loor snapped. "What the hell are you doing?" She questioned for a second time. "What part of 'don't get attached' don't you understand?"

"I'm not..." Fury tried to defend. "I'm keeping warm."

"Oh, like you were last night?" Loor stamped her foot, not caring that Kiba was beginning to wake up, growling. "And don't even play dumb on that one, I saw you two last night. Oh _sure, _let's go blabbing about Lori-Loor's little birthday gift, huh? What was it, four severed heads on a katana? Were you gonna tell him everything _else_ too? For all we know, he could be the other guy!"

Kiba yawned, lifting his head. "What the hell is wrong with you... making commotion this early in the morning...?"

"Don't even get me started with you, Scruffy!" Loor served a glare to the dog boy, returning to Fury, who was rather awake now.

The look on Fury's face was defense; her natural reaction. "I... I'm sorry..." She muttered, lowering her head in a submissive matter.

Kiba, under the blankets, took Fury's hand. A simple squeeze gave her one message. _Fight back._

Fury squeezed back, but said nothing. She couldn't, not faced with her big sister. Loor was right. "I'll... um... find my bed tonight..."

Loor nodded, still looking steamed. "Never thought I'd see ya doing this..." She shook her head, sighing.

"What, disobeying you?"

Fury glanced at Kiba, surprised at the boy had spoken up in her place. "Kiba!?"

"What, she can't just walk all over you like that! She's your big sister for crying out loud!" Kiba lifted himself from bed, not caring that he was only wearing his pants, stepping over Fury to square off against Loor. "Do you think you're helping her, Blondie?"

"You back off, Scruffy! I'm protecting her, like a big sister should! Don't mean I have to nice about it!"

"If you wanna protect her, you better back off and let her toughen up a little bit!" He snarled. "She's got plenty of the mind, gods only know, but you won't let her experience nothing, will you?"

"Experience?" She snorted at him. "What's to experience? All that's truly left in this world is pain, things she doesn't have to feel."

"So you try to feel them all for her?" He shook his head. "You can't take everyone's burden on your own shoulders."

"Kiba..."

The dog boy was taken back by Fury's voice as the girl brought herself to her own feet, putting a hand on his shoulder, and looking at Loor. Slowly, Kiba was brought back, and Fury stepped up to the plate, looking at Loor. "_Onee-san..._" Fury gave slowly. "You're still my big sister... but I'm learning to take care of myself, y'know? You don't have to protect me all of the time. Anyway, what is it that you say all the time...? What doesn't kill you..."

Loor sighed, lowering her anger slightly. "...makes you stronger."

"Well..." Fury tried for a smile. "We're not dead yet."

Loor giggled. "True."

"And speaking of things that don't kill you..." Fury walked up, looking down. "What happened to your ribs _this_ time?"

Loor looked down to find that her stomach was an even darker shade than it had been before from getting smacked by the sand man. "Oh... just training last night."

"And you tell me not to get attached." Fury teased, turning back to Kiba. "Where's my shirt?"

"What do you mean by that?" Loor asked quickly as Kiba went to go looking for the lost garment.

"My shirt's missing...?" Fury took this fact to be obvious.

"No, the thing about getting attached."

"Oh, that? Well, you've met with this Gaara guy several times now, and neither of you are dead, so it's either you're still getting around to killing each other, or you like him."

"Like him?" Loor questioned with a raised eyebrow as Kiba found Fury's shirt and came back to hand it over. "Fury, may I remind you that he's _male." _

Kiba glanced at Loor. "Whoa, I did _not_ need to know you swung that way."

Kiba promptly got a glare from Fury and a punch in the shoulder from Loor. "That's not what I meant. I mean that I just don't like romance in general." She shook her head, smirking. "People who believe they're in love all but lose their minds to the only force on this world that is not based out of logic."

Fury rolled her eyes. She'd heard this speech a few times. "Emotion, right?"

Loor smirked, pointing at Fury while giving a comical grin to Kiba. "See, she's learning."

"No," Fury corrected. "It's just one of the few stories you have that you don't change every time to tell it."

"That's because I actually believe it." Loor crossed her arms, her smile still in place.

"So you think people who are in love lose their minds? Well... I think that's why they call it 'falling' in love." Kiba said this slowly, not having much of a place in the conversation. He'd never been in love, so he wouldn't know. On the other hand, no thirteen year old had ever been in love, so the whole conversation was rather hypothetical.

"No," Loor shook her head. "Only people who _think_ they're in love. If you're actually in love, and you don't _fall_ into it, then you probably have your head on straight enough not to go around acting funny, and just be yourself."

"And how the heck would you know?"

Fury watched as Kiba and Loor looked as if they were about to start yelling at each other again, and stood between them. "She doesn't. She's just pissed off about her last boyfriend."

"What, Blondie, did you decapitate him?" Kiba joked.

"Don't I wish." Loor replied, snickering. "No, Ender didn't get what he deserved, but I'm quite sure he will when I get back and he asks for a spar..." She got a devilish look on her face. "Oh, that little boy is so dead."

"Can I help?" Fury asked quickly.

"Of course, of course." Loor grinned. "Well make a family outing of it."

"Eh?" Kiba asked.

"What?" Loor snickered, grabbing Fury in a hug. "She's the only family I got left."

* * *

For the past two days, the peer sensei that Fury and Loor trained under were... enthusiastic, to say the least. Sakura had been happy to help, and Naruto was nearly bouncing off of the trees like a demented game of vertical pinball.

Sasuke was not even close. When Fury and Loor arrived Sasuke had not even bothered to say hello. Kakashi, Naruto, and Sakura were there, but they were off to the side, doing other things. On the other side of the clearing, Sasuke, Fury, and Loor all stood.

Silence.

After a few moments, Loor sighed. "I sense an ego."

Sasuke gave a slight smirk. "I hear an idiot. Now I'm going to have to deal with _two_ knuckleheads; you and Naruto."

"Knuckleheads?!" Loor gave, indignant. "You want me to go and beat that smile off of your face, pretty boy?"

"Loor, do you have to fight with every boy you see?" Fury sighed, off to the side. Had this been an anime of some sorts, there would be a sweat drop falling off of her head.

"Yes, damn it!!"

"Let's just get on with this." Sasuke said, breaking it short. This left Loor stewing, glaring, and Fury giving a sigh of relief. "The sooner we start, the sooner I can go home."

"And the sooner I can take a bath..." Loor muttered.

"You could have done that this morning." Fury pointed out.

"Naw, the hot water is out at the apartments." Loor gave. "So I thought I'd go visit the pubic showers and then visit the hot springs while I'm near 'em."

"Hot springs?" Fury questioned. "Can I come with?"

"Sure." Loor shrugged. "You take care of yourself now, remember?" It was a prod in good humor, and Fury gave a slight giggle before Sasuke let out an exaggerated sigh to call attention back.

"Anyway..." His monotoned voice annoyed Loor. "Kakashi wanted me to give you both a jutsu to practice according to your skill level, stressing jutsu that have more than one sign so you learn how they're significant to the skill and chakra usage." He shrugged. "On the other hand, Fury, you already know a three-sign jutsu, the doppelganger."

Fury got a slightly proud look on her face, but it sank as Loor gained a look of envy.

"Loor, you were shocked by something that didn't even need a hand sign; substitution..." He paused before needling her. "That's more than a little pathetic, just so you know."

Loor growled. "I could do it if someone told me _how_ to do it."

"In a second, I'm getting to that." Sasuke had a victorious smirk from getting a rise out of Loor. "Fury, you're a bit ahead, and I think Kakashi knows it. I want you to practice your jutsu; focus on illusion. Do it till you're exhausted, and I mean completely. Do it till it hurts, like working a muscle."

"Got ya, captain!" Fury gave, snickering and going off to do it on her own. Sasuke was aware of the bulk of chakra Fury could posses if she trained it. She didn't have it yet, but if Kakashi had them start training physically she could raise it very quickly. Interesting... and she had a great control of it. Sasuke wouldn't be surprised to see Fury doing fire style jutsu within the year, or less.

"You forget about me?" Loor's rude voice impeded upon his thoughts. "I do have other things to do besides standing here all day, increasing the quantity of freckles on my face."

"Any more, and you're going to have to change your ethnicity." Sasuke gave, turning back with annoyance on his face. It was true, though. The brown dots were quickly taking over the girl's face and arms. "I'm teaching you substitution, wait here for a second."

Loor sighed as the boy went off to the side, into the trees, and returned with a small mass of fallen branches and such. He put the pile down in one spot, and took one off of the pile to place it in front of Loor, about five feet away. "Substitution is a simple technique that doesn't require a hand sign, and only a small amount of chakra. It's a useful battle tactic for getting out of someone's hold in a hurry if you've been pinned."

"Right, I saw Fury do it." Loor sounded bored. "Can we hurry this up? You're not the only person I plan on training with today, and I consider that more useful since I'm sure the kid I'm training with could wipe the floor with you."

"Really?" Sasuke got a slight smirk. "What makes you say that?"

"Simple." She grinned. "He's almost as determined as me, only he's been training by himself since he was a little kid, and just as hard, if not harder. And it wasn't because he wanted to beat someone or anything like that... it was something he really believed in, and still does." She giggled. "His belief makes him strong."

"And what do you believe in?" Sasuke had to question.

Her gaze shifted over to Fury, who had just made about twenty perfect copies of herself. "Keeping others from harm... I have to protect them." She shook her head violently, turning back to him. "Sorry, that's really off topic. Let's get back to this."

"We'll start you off easy." He said, nodding. In the back of his mind, he was thinking about what believed in, but kept it unvoiced. To say that one believed in hatred and revenge would be a strange concept to someone like her, he was sure. She had hinted before that she had been through some bad things, but they couldn't be that bad.

Not if she was still grinning like and idiot and acting like Naruto.

"You have to focus a small amount of energy on finding a nearby object, and then switch yourself with it. The basic concept is easy enough, but only works when there's a lot of loose objects to switch yourself with. If there's nothing to switch with, you can't use it."

"Okay..." Loor was giving him the 'are you sure about this?' look, but tried to have a little confidence. Fury had done it, she was sure she could too. "So what do I do after 'finding' my object?"

"Give yourself a push towards it, like dashing, while yanking towards yourself. It makes the switch effect, expends a little chakra, and gets you out of danger."

"Alrighty then..." Loor sighed, looking at the stick that was five feet away from her. Sure, why not? She closed her eyes, gathering a little without a hand sign, and then trying to find the stick. It was only five feet away... her senses crawled over grass, across Sasuke's toes, and finally landed on the stick. God that felt weird. It was like having a whole 'nother appendage that was made for nothing but feeling and grabbing.

On the other hand, that was all it was supposed to do; feel, grab, and yank.

She gave herself a second to get her complete bearing and an extra amount of energy in her chest for the push. A second later, she did as she was directed. She pushed herself while yanking the stick...

She yelped, tripping and falling flat on her face, as she felt the sudden move. No, it wasn't a move, it was practically teleporting! Y'know, something out of some space age novel, right? Or magic! "What the crap...?!" She gave, getting up and facing Sasuke, who had a smug smirk that screamed 'what an idiot' on his face.

"Not bad." He chuckled, looking over to where she had been standing. There, of course, was the stick. "Though you're going to have to learn how to do it faster. What if you had been held down and someone was throwing kunai at you? You would have been dead before the switch."

"It's my first time." She snorted at him. "You can't expect perfect results. I highly doubt you did it perfect the first time."

"No, but I had perfected it before I was eight years old."

Loor was tempted to throw a punch at him, but decided not to bother, getting back to practice.

She'd sock him one later.

* * *

"Oh man... I'm not sure which sounds better, the bath or the hot springs!" Fury declared with a big smile. Her and Loor were heading to the public bathhouses, and then they were going to go relax at the nearby hot springs, seeing as both girls were tired and sore. Fury had done as she was told, expending her chakra using every jutsu she knew, though there were only three; substitution, doppelganger, and transformation. Loor had been practicing substitution that whole time, down to where she could do it quickly without even thinking about it, picking out random sticks form the woods instead of having to use ones that were set out for her. It was odd, because she accidentally grabbed a branch still attached to a tree once, and was confused when the jutsu didn't work, her energy just squibbing out.

"I'd say the bath..." Loor snickered. "I tried taking a cold shower at Lee's place anyway last night..." She scoffed at herself. "I'll never do that again."

"Smooth, Loor." Fury snickered, ducking as her friend faked a punch at her. "Must be fun... to live on your own in one of those apartments, _Hai?" _

"Maybe so," Loor mused. "But you have to be part of the ninja program."

"I know that, Loor. I was just saying." Fury's voice reflected an apology.

"Sorry..." Loor sighed. "I've just been a little... serious lately. Training with Lee, and then Kakashi's team, and worrying about you and Scruffy..." She quickly gave Fury a well-deserved noggie on that note.

"Hey! Hey! We've been behaving just fine!! Loor! Lemme go!"

After a few moments, Loor did. "Aww, c'mon Fury, you know I have to tease."

"Yeah, but you don't have to hurt my head while you're at it." The brown haired girl rubbed her head while saying this, trying to set her long mop straight. "Anyway, I have to worry about you too..."

"Why would you have to worry about me?"

Fury indicated Loor's bruised ribs. "Why do you think? You saw him again last night, didn't you?"

"Hey, he tracks me down, and he doesn't listen when I tell him to go away..." The blond snorted. "The little sand worm."

Fury squealed at this. "I knew it!!"

"Knew what, dare I ask?"

"You like him, and it's so obvious!"

"Fury, I've explained this once, and if I need to explain it again, I will. He has issues, and you know how I am about that. It's not that I like him, it's just that he needs help."

"Yeah, so do half the guys at school that you beat up. Face it Loor, you like him."

"No, I don't." Loor's voice had turned very cold, speeding ahead of her friend. Why did Fury insist that she liked Gaara? Who _could_ like that kid? How could she like that kid? He tried to kill her, right? Smacked her in the ribs last night, right?

Loor's mind flashed on her hand, lightly petting at his forehead. But that was only to help him... not because she wanted to touch him... she wasn't being affectionate, she was being helpful, that was all. She was just responding to the wounds she saw though looking at him, aware of how hurt he was.

It was her nature, something she couldn't fight.

Fury didn't buy it. "Then why do you deal with him at night?" The younger sister asked, trotting to keep up. "If you didn't want to see him at all, you'd just stay in at night to avoid him, wouldn't you?"

"Let a boy shove me off of something when I got there first?" Loor snorted. "How 'bout no?"

"Forgot about how hardheaded you were..." Fury sighed, shaking her head. She was about to say something else, but they had arrived, and Loor refused to talk, even if the shower stalls were side-by-side.

No, Fury's words had buried Loor deep within her own mind, questioning.

Why did she want to help him? Was it truly her nature...?

Loor's alternate nature, the one that hated men, quickly denied being capable of caring for him, and that became her belief on it. Her stubborn streak fortified it, and her hardheadedness put a hard shell over it.

She'd have no nonsense about love; she didn't believe in it.


	29. Girl Talk

Two of four.

**No ownage.**

OWTF!!!

**Markings- Chapter Twenty Nine**  
**Girl Talk**

The hot springs were at the base of the mountain that bore the great stone faces, and was separated between the two genders. Loor didn't pay attention to which door girls went through, but did notice that it wasn't really a door. It was an opening with a big cloth draped over it and some kanji that identified what gender was supposed to use it. Past that was an attendant and a place to leave your clothes, and then the springs themselves.

Loor had no shame in walking out and stripping off the towel they had given her. Fury had told her it was for shameful women, and respect. You were _supposed_ to wear it in case your own nudity made others uncomfortable. Loor, in all honesty, didn't care. She had no shame, and slipped into the hot water whilst hefting a huge relaxed sigh, ignoring the dirty look she was getting from the attendant.

Fury came in behind her, clutching the towel for dear life, glancing about to find the springs empty besides herself and her sister. After taking note of that, she slipped into the hot steamy water and then gave one of her shifty glances to Loor.

"Where's your towel?" Fury asked quietly.

Loor reached back onto the ledge, lifting the thing up.

"Loor!"

"What? You said it was optional." Loor snickered, dropping the white towel back down and looking over at Fury. "Anyway, why the hell would female nudity make _you_ uncomfortable? You're a girl. If you haven't seen it yet, you're gonna when you finally bloom."

Fury ducked her head underwater to hide her embarrassment on the subject. It was true, Fury hadn't even had her first period yet.

Loor chortled at her friend, leaning back and letting herself loose for a long soak. The water felt so good, even if there was a sulfur smell around it from the fact that it _was_ a natural hot spring. She loved the smell of sulfur anyway.

The next time Fury looked up, Loor was floating on her back, once again without any shame. Almost yelping, the younger girl averted her eyes and grabbed Loor's towel, quickly slapping it over her friend's stomach. "Have _some_ shame while I'm around! Jeez woman!"

Loor had nearly gone under, but managed to stay above water and on her back as Fury draped the towel over her. "Alright, alright!" She giggled. "You silly girl. I swear, 'shame' must be the first word in your dictionary."

"It's on the cover, actually." Fury corrected. "In thirty point type, red, bold, and underlined. And I'm sure the word 'shame' isn't even _in_ yours."

Loor thought about it, and suddenly took on a monotone voice to joke, trying to sound like a computer. "Inquiry not found. Does not compute." She then dunked under the water, coming back up, standing, and flipping her hair back, having nearly lost her towel in the process and holding it for Fury's sake. Sitting down again, both girls relaxed, enjoying the steam rising off of the water and the feeling of all the overworked muscles in their bodies relaxing.

Loor took a deep breath, and her back cracking several times was largely audible, causing both girls to break out laughing.

"So... you excited for the chunnins?" Fury asked Loor.

"I'm excited to see who comes out on top." The elder replied. "I had my money on Lee before, but there are so many different nin around that it's honestly anyone's game."

"Think Kiba's got a chance?"

"Scruffy?" Loor snickered. "I donno. Maybe, if he's lucky."

"Loor!"

"What? Can't help that I asked around about some of the chunnin exams stages! The Forest of Death sounds to be a pretty tough challenge on its own..." She trailed off, looking at the far wall, the one that separated the genders within the springs.

"Loor."

The solid tone in Fury's voice called Loor back. "Eh..?"

"You promised you wouldn't try to sneak in, right? You won't, right?"

Loor stared at Fury for several seconds, thinking. Fury knew she was, and didn't stop her from doing so. Loor _had_ promised, and it was not often she went back on a promise to a friend. No, not often at all. If there were promises she had ever broken, they were to adults. And the Forest of Death was supposed to be dangerous... what if she didn't come back? Who would protect Fury then?

The idea suddenly became very bad in Loor mind, and she gave Fury a humbled smile. "I'm not going to, Fury." She stuck her hand out there, a hand that Fury took. Both girls clasped, and pulled, thumping their shoulders together before letting go. "I promise, and to take a page out of Naruto's book, a shinobi never goes back on their word!"

"Aren't you missing something out of there?"

Both girls yelped as a voice had come from across the divider between genders, a voice that was obviously Naruto. After a few seconds, Loor glanced up to see that Naruto wasn't even down in the boy's hot spring, he was holding his chest over the divider to grin down at the two girls on the other side.

"Naruto!!" Fury at once dunked under the water, but Loor stood up, snickering at the mischievous boy.

"And what would I be missing, buddy boy?" She asked, holding her towel carelessly, as if she didn't really want to be wearing it. On the other hand, she didn't. It was heavy with water and tiresome to guard oneself.

"If you're gonna take something outta my book, you gotta include the whole phrase! A shinobi never goes back on their word, _believe it!!"_

Loor watched as he became overzealous in this announcement, losing his grip on the divider and falling back into the boy's section, splashing down loudly. She waited till Naruto was done coughing and sputtering. "Fine, _believe it,_ Whiskers!"

"Whiskers?" Fury and Naruto asked in stereo.

"What? I managed a nickname for Sasuke, and now Naruto, which just leaves Sakura and I'll have all of team seven."

"You can't forget Kakashi sensei!!" Naruto gave. Loor could hear his attempts at climbing the divider again. "He's part of the team too!"

"Naruto, if you climb over again, I will be forced to come up there and kick you where the sun doesn't shine." Fury warned.

"Fine." Naruto sounded miffed. Loor had sat back down, now pondering nicknames for both Sakura _and_ Kakashi. She could hear him on the other side, leaving the water, and suddenly smirked as she felt something. It was a tickling of the senses, something she was getting adept to feeling.

Chakra usage, outside. He was probably using the sexy jutsu to go into the girl's bath. "Fury, hike up your towel." Loor muttered, leaning back slightly in the water.

"Why?" Fury asked.

"Man, I never thought I'd do _this_ again."

Both girls looked up to see someone else had just entered. Of course, Loor was expecting the version of the sexy jutsu that she had already seen; with hair, skin, and eyes much like Naruto's with a sixteen-year-old female bodice. This is where Loor was wrong. Standing before them, with only a white towel, was a pale and curvy girl with black hair and green eyes, lacking Naruto's characteristic whiskers.

"What's up with your looks?" Loor asked, raising an eyebrow, well aware that it was still him. There was a smile that gave it away. "Is there something wrong with the blond and tan look?"

"Nope." The voice that Naruto gave himself was high, innocent, and feminine. He sunk into the water, past the chest, to relax. "The attendant has seen the original sexy jutsu before, and she wouldn't have let me in if I had used it."

"Naru---"

Loor's hand slapped over Fury's mouth before the younger could finish the boy's name. "Easy, Fury. Keep it down." The light bulb suddenly went off above Loor's head. "Wait a tick... Naru's a girl's name, isn't it?"

"Yeah, but you cut off the last two letters." Naruto pointed out.

"I'm saying this could be useful, retard." Loor gave flatly, taking her hand away from Fury's mouth and relaxing again. "By the way, how did that date with Hinata go?"

"Pretty good." He replied. "I think... I mean, we actually got to talk a little bit... but she seemed so nervous. I'm scared I did something."

Fury glanced at Loor. "You aren't at it again, are you Doc?"

"Doc?" Naruto questioned. "Why do you call her Doc?"

"Relationships doctor..." Fury muttered, sighing. "That is the biggest irony in the world Loor, you know that? You hate romance, and yet you know the most about it and have great advice for every single situation that you come up against."

"That's because people who still enjoy romance lack common sense." Loor retorted, harshly. "I'll trade romance for a good head on my shoulders any day."

"Sounds like a bad deal to me." Fury muttered.

"Only because you had a body pillow last night." Loor quipped.

"Hey!" Naruto, or Naru, take your pick, groused. "Loor! How do I find out if it's something I did that made her nervous??"

Loor was about to reply, but seemed to hear something at put her finger to her lips, hushing everyone, her ears seeming to prick up.

Someone else was entering the hot springs. Someone with a weak and kind voice, and female, currently talking to the attendant.

The three people who were already in the spring watched as Hinata entered with a towel on and a one-piece swimsuit on underneath. Her white eyes glanced about. "Oh... Loor... Fury... hi... um..." Her gaze drifted to the last person. "Is this a friend of yours?"

"Yeah, she is." Loor grinned, glancing at Naruto with a wink that would be out of Hinata's notice. "_Naru_, this is Hinata. Hinata, Naru."

"Naru..." Hinata slipped into the water, offering her hand. "That's a pretty name."

'Naru' nodded, shaking Hinata's hand. "Thanks." S/he replied.

"So, Hinata," Fury gave. "What's this I hear about you having a date with Naruto?"

Loor smirked. Fury had picked it up pretty quick.

At once, Hinata went bright red. "W-w-well... I... uh... I wouldn't call it a... d-d-date... We just had lunch..."

"What happened?" Loor asked with ease. "He didn't make any moves on you, did he?"

"No!" Hinata shook her head. "Naruto is too nice... he'd never do that... we just talked... and... oh... I felt so nervous... I always do when he's around... I can't help it..."

"You shouldn't be."

Three sets of eyes snapped to 'Naru.'

"I... I know..." Hinata gave slowly. "Sometimes... I wish I could just hug him... but... I'm so scared of making a fool of myself..."

"Tell me," Naru prodded Hinata. "What's this Naruto kid like? I'm not from around here, just visiting for the exams."

Loor snickered. Naruto had played this game before.

"Well, he's brave... and strong... and never gives up... and..." Fury gave a grin as Hinata used her last word of description. "Amazing..."

Loor watched as 'Naru' turned a light shade of pink, and stretched, yawning obnoxiously to catch Hinata's attention before the girl noticed. "So, Hinata, did he do anything to make you uncomfortable?" She asked.

"No..." Hinata shook her head to match her words. "...he kept making me laugh, actually... It was the most relaxed I felt in a long time..."

"So what flavor ramen did you get?" This would be Loor's last question, since Naru was recovering nicely.

Hinata thought about it, white eyes wandering. "Um... ah... I don't remember... I don't even remember ordering. I know Naruto told me a funny joke right after I ordered..."

Loor smirked. "Cute." She then got up. "Well, I've been in here long enough. Hey, Naru, you coming?"

At first, Naruto didn't react, having been listening to Hinata, but glanced up after a moment. "Oh, sure! Sorry!"

"I'll be right behind you guys." Fury said. "I'm just gonna... take a few more moments."

"Don't take too long." Loor advised, and then left with 'Naru' right on her heels. "I've heard nasty stuff about staying in hot springs for a long time... something about your skin melting or something..."

Fury whimpered, watching her big sister and the boy in disguise leave, and then turning to Hinata. "I heard your team got entered in the chunnins..." Fury said after a moment. "Are you going to go?"

Hinata nodded. "I have to..." She said weakly.

"What do you mean, you have to?" Fury cocked her head. "Oh, wait, high expectations from your parents, right?"

"My father... could care less... but I know Kiba and Shino... they want to go, and the whole team has to enter in order to be allowed in... so I have to go."

"That's mean." Fury muttered. "They shouldn't have a rule like that."

"Why not? It keeps the three man teams together... the team you're used to being with will be with you... right up to the end."

"But I still think it's unfair to require a whole team to enter. I mean, what if someone got sick and fell really behind, and still entered for the sake of their other team members? They'd put themselves at risk."

"You put yourself at risk just by entering..." Hinata sighed. "It's been stressed over and over again that these tests are deadly... if the Forest stage doesn't kill you, other shinobi will... some of the enemy villages use this just to relive aggression against other nin... just to shorten the number of shinobi from another village before a war breaks out... The leaf village may have a few allies... but I'm a little scared of what will happen when we meet an enemy."

"Chin up, Hinata." Fury gave, leaning over to give the girl a quick hug. "If you can beat Loor, you can make it through the exams, no problem."

"You think so?" Hinata meant this in all seriousness. Her white eyes pressed in on Fury.

"I know so." Fury offered a smile. "And, oh, by the way..." Fury giggled. "Naruto was worried that he made you uncomfortable; that's why Loor asked."

Hinata's complexion took on the color of a ripe tomato, her head ducking under the water to hide such. Apparently, the black haired girl was capable of putting two and two together on 'Naru' as well, since she had seen the sexy jutsu before when Naruto pulled it on Iruka sensei back in the academy.

Fury got up, to follow after Loor, and found the blond girl with Naruto, who happened to be doing the victory dance.

* * *

"Lee!!" Loor hollered, running across the way as she spotted the black haired male, though it was the green jump suit that tipped it off. At hearing his name, Lee stopped and looked back, giving a slight smile and offering a wave, stopping in the street to wait for her to catch up.

Lee was _not_ expecting Loor to launch herself at him in a hug, but caught her anyway. "Someone is in a good mood." He noted.

She shrugged, letting go of him and grinning as he started walking again, walking with him. It was a section of Konoha not far from the bath houses, which meant that she might have gotten Lee a little wet with her still damp hair. "I just got out of the hot springs, and I'm a little hyper. Where were you yesterday?"

"With Gai sensei." He answered, shrugging, and then giving her an apologetic look. "You were not looking for me yesterday... were you?"

"I was, but it's not a big deal." She nudged him in the shoulder. "You got stuff to do too, I know that."

He smiled, and then noticed something. "I think your ribs have gotten worse..."

She snickered. "Yeah, you and the rest of the world. Fury won't leave me alone about it."

"I can understand why. Whatever or whoever did this, all they would have needed is a little more pressure and one of your ribs, or more, would be broken." He elbowed her. "It is hard to train as a shinobi if you are stuck in the hospital."

She nodded. "True enough, Lee, I'll give you that. Still, I wouldn't let something silly like that stop me."

"Broken bones are silly?" He had a confused note in his voice. "I do not see anything silly about them."

"No, the down time they make you take is silly. The bone takes a few weeks to heal, I accept that, but they want you to stay on your back for like a month after that, and I find that to be bull. I can't stand sitting on a hospital bed anyway. If I ever ended up bed ridden around here, I'd break out the first chance I got."

"Even if you needed rest?"

"I can never stand to stay down." She shrugged. "C'mon Lee, if you got hurt, tell me you'd spend all that time on your back. More likely than not, you'd get back to training as soon as you felt able, not when they said you'd be able."

He did think about it, and nodded. "True. I would not want to fall behind on any of my training."

"Glad to know someone on this earth thinks like me." She giggled. "Anyway, do you have anything on your plate for today? I was hoping we could get a little training in, but if you're busy--"

"Not at all." Lee took a turn off of the road they had been walking on, towards the woods. "I was about to ask if you wanted to."

Loor smiled, she couldn't help such a reaction as she followed him, trotting to keep even. She didn't follow anyone; ever.

* * *

"Lord Orochimaru, there may be a problem."

"And what would that be, Kabuto?"

"It would seem that Loor... has changed her mind."

"...what?"

"She had been planning on sneaking into the Forest of Death on her own, but it would seem that her younger sister has changed her mind."

"Well then, Kabuto, you're going to have to find a way to change it again. I know how good you are at doing that. Why would you bother me on something so menial?"

"It will be tricky, Orochimaru-sama... a city is hardly the place to... persuade someone."

"Then consider it a challenge. I hear comments from you about your other work, on how it's child's play. Perhaps this will be good for you... She _will_ be there, just like Sasuke. It will be quite interesting to watch two people, together, fall to the same fate."

"We don't know if she'll survive it, or even accept it."

"If she dies, she wouldn't have been of any use anyway. Don't tell me you care?"

"She's vital to Fury's condition... I am sure that if one sister goes down, the other will be useless, non-functional."

"If that is the case, Kabuto, you will be killing her instead of marking her. Loor will go into the Forest, even if it is against her better judgment and her own free will, and if death happens to be her fate, than her sister will share it."

"Loor seems to be throwing a wrench into a large section of our plans..."

"What was that, Kabuto?"

"Gaara has become... more unstable since having contact with her. I fear he may commence a change too early at this point, or not do it at all."

"She's one human, and a _girl_ none of the less... who knew just one girl could be so troublesome?"


	30. Friendship

Tee-hee… Three of four.

**No ownage.**

OWTF!!

**Markings- Chapter Thirty**

**Friendship**

"Hey, Fury, Hinata!"

Both girls glanced back, seeing as Fury had waited up at the bathhouses for Hinata, and the girls had hung out for the day. Now, running up behind them, was Kiba. The girls had just been strolling about, and were on a path near the village wall, just hanging around and talking. Kiba had Akamaru with him, of course, and the dog got there first, launching into Fury's waiting arms.

"K-Kiba!" Hinata gave, slightly startled. "Hi there."

"Wow, only one stutter, you must be getting better Hinata." Kiba joked, skidding to a stop in front of Fury before quickly hugging her, making Akamaru sandwiched between them for a second before pulling away. "Have you two just been hanging around all day? C'mon Fury, I was hoping we could have hung out."

Fury felt herself go red. "W-well... sorry... it's just me and Hinata met up when Loor and I went to the hot springs, and--"

"Fury, I'm just messing with you." Kiba ruffled her hair. "You know me better than to go around making people feel bad." He then turned to Hinata. "So what's up with you two?"

"Just talking." Hinata gave, smiling lightly.

Akamaru yipped something, sniffing Hinata in question. Kiba chuckled. "Yeah, it's actually her Akamaru. Take it easy. We would have known an impostor miles away."

Hinata giggled sheepishly, reaching out to pat Akamaru's head.

Fury had to wonder how often the dog was the center of physical attention when Kiba met up with people. It was just so easy to talk and pet at the same time.

"So, Kiba, what really brings you out here?" Fury had to ask.

"Well," Kiba glanced up at the waning light. "It's just past sun set, and I hadn't seen you. I guess I got a little worried that Kabuto kidnapped you or something." The last part was a joke, and he snickered lightly to point out that fact. "Y'know how boys fight over women."

"Yeah, just cause your silly." Fury cuffed him in the shoulder, a move she'd picked up from Loor. "Too bad guys are yet to realize that the girl makes her own choices, regardless to their little competitions."

Hinata giggled slightly, which earned a glance from both Fury and Kiba. "Sorry..." She smiled. "You two are just so... cute."

"Cute?" Kiba looked puzzled. "How the hell do I pull off cute? Maybe bad ass, but I doubt girls dig a mop that's never been brushed." He ran his hand deftly through his hair to make this point. He wouldn't mention how long it had been since he bathed.

"That's not the type of cute she's talking about." Fury giggled, nudging Kiba with her elbow as Akamaru left her arms and went back to his owner's hood. "Right Hinata?"

"Right," Hinata nodded. "Like... just how you two talk to each other and stuff... it's cute and funny."

Kiba seemed to be more confused. "...eh?"

"Don't break your brain over it." Fury giggled. She glanced up though, and noticed how quickly they were losing daylight. At this rate, it would be dark before she made it back to the Inuzuka place, and that would be if she got stepping right now. "Well, Looks like I'll see you later, Hinata."

Hinata nodded, and the girls met for a quick hug. "Sleep well."

"I will." Fury assured. "Good luck on the chunnins."

"Thank you..." Hinata's voice sank back into its usual hushed tones. "I'll... do my best..."

"Then you'll do fine." Fury pulled away from the hug, looking at Kiba. "Right?"

"Yeah, Hinata." The dog boy grinned. "Just give 'em all ya got, and you'll do great."

"R-right..." Hinata nodded.

Fury and Kiba turned, as they would be going a different way than Hinata, and started walking. "I doubt I'll sleep..." Kiba chuckled. "I'm so excited..."

Fury growled at him. "Well, you'd better sleep. If you're twitching all night, I'm not gonna be able to get any rest."

"I thought you were gonna find your own bed." He teased.

"Yeah... well..." Fury shrugged. "I'm fighting back." She tried to smile. "Loor wants me to get stronger... I know she does, but she's so protective. She's always talking about how my mom smothers me... I don't think she realizes that she does the same thing. Maybe not quite as bad, but she does."

"Your mom?" Kiba asked, cocking his head. "I'd think all moms smother their kids... they just worry a lot."

Fury snorted. "Buddy, say that when _you're_ not allowed to take a bath while you're home alone."

"What?"

"You heard me." Fury started listing off on her fingers. "While home alone, I'm not allowed to bathe because my mother is afraid I'll fall asleep and drown. I'm not allowed to cook because mom is afraid the stuff will malfunction and explode, or I'll set the house on fire. I'm not allowed to go outside, lest someone comes out and kidnaps me or something like that." She sighed. "Everywhere I go, and everything I do, mom always has at least five 'don't-s' for me."

"Shit..." Kiba muttered, Akamaru whimpering. "Your mom must be really paranoid."

"Well... I guess it's okay in some cases." Fury muttered. "I mean, I'm the only kid she has... not to mention the only one she _can_ have, unless she adopts."

"Eh?"

"Cancer." Fury was blunt. "Every woman on her side of the family has had it, cancer of the ovaries. She got it right after I was born, and had to get her tubes severed. To make it even better, I was premature by two months, and have weak immunities to show for it."

Kiba blinked twice. "Dude, that sucks..." He muttered. "If it helps, a person could never tell by lookin' at you. Right Akamaru?"

The dog answered with two yips that tried to instill a little confidence.

"So, is it just you and your mom?" He had to ask. "I mean, she's the only parent you've ever talked about."

"My stepdad lives with us." She said after a moment. "My biological father... he can go to hell."

Kiba detected something in Fury's voice that he had never heard from her before. It was a tone that didn't quite sound like the girl he had gotten to know. It nearly made her voice drop half an octave, deep and steely tones working up into her usual lighter voice.

The thing in Fury's voice... was pure hate.

"Dare I ask why...?"

"He's a homicidal drunk who doesn't pay child support." Fury looked at him. "Get this, when I was a little kid we were playing a game. That was back when he was still around, of course, and he was drunk. I was about seven, and I won. At first... he started ranting, claiming that I was cheating, and then he tried to strangle me with a pillow."

He stared at her, eyebrows raised. "He tried to _kill _you? Over a game?"

"Yeah." Fury then gained a smirk. "I find it pretty damn pathetic though. I punched him out of self defense, right on the upper lip, and he left me to check if he was bleeding."

"The bastard sounds pretty pathetic. Trying to strangle a seven year old..." Kiba growled something under his breath, looking rather angry now. Fury saw this angry look on his face, and then took his hand.

"Sorry."

"Sorry for what?" Kiba gave, looking at her.

"I shouldn't have said all that stuff... they're my problems... you don't have to worry about me."

He snickered, ruffling her hair. "Fury, you say sorry too much."

"Sorry!"

Kiba sighed before they both started to laugh, the conversation switching over to some lighter material.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was later now, the sun gone and the moon rising. Lee had gone to bed early, to be ready for the chunnins tomorrow. Loor should have slept, but she had already decided not to go, so didn't stress about it. No, she stood, a singular shadow in her usual clearing, stave clutched in one hand.

Loor lifted her legs slightly, having added another weight set, up to sixty pounds. Once again, she could feel a slight strain on her legs, but tried to ignore it as she dropped her stave and stepped forward into a handstand, lifting her legs over her head and trying to keep them straight.

After a few seconds, she crashed over to the side, yelping. She landed hard, and felt it up to her knees when her legs hit the ground. She didn't know how Lee walked about on his hands so easily, but he had tried teaching her, and she just couldn't do it. Once or twice, she could get herself to do a handstand, but walking was more than out of the question.

The truth was that she just couldn't hold herself up. She kept losing her balance, or her arms were tired, or whatever. One thing or the other, she ate dirt every time. Every time...

She snorted, going to right herself again and walking up to a tree, turning her back to it and crouching. Then, leaning forward, she went onto her hands and head, her feet bracing on the tree, and then lifting one leg to go straight over her head, and then back, stretching her foot to touch the back of her head whilst feeling all the blood go to her ears.

She ignored the head rush, the leg that was stretched behind her extending to be straight again and then going to the side, very slowly coming back to rest with the other leg against the tree, and then repeating the process with the other leg. She could feel the fact that her toes were far from touching her head, but she would keep trying.

Suddenly, she fell again. Yep, while her leg was off to the side, she tipped and fell. Lifting her head, her proper hearing coming back, she cursed. Something was wrong with her, dang it! She never fell to the side on that one! Maybe backwards, if she didn't return her leg correctly, but never to the side. She was distracted.

"Fucking hormones..." She muttered, getting up and grabbing her practice stave. "Stupid emotions... I'm above all this, damn it!" Her voice went up into a violent shout, turning for her stave to crack against the tree she had just been braced upon. "I know better... I know the effects..." She snorted, lifting back and dealing several blows in quick succession. "My mind should override it! I'm above all this!"

_Helpless._

Loor snorted, closing her eyes and turning with her stave outstretched. Her mind began to sink, sink to the level where she could fight and argue with herself. _**Didn't I kick your ass a couple days ago? **_

The thing, intelligible at the moment, snickered. _You're angry. Can't fight that. _

_**Never said I wanted to...**_ Loor began to prowl, waiting to give herself a target, waiting to attack her own rage. _**My anger is my power. **_

_Power?_ It's being bloomed in Loor's mind, once again a mirror image much like before. It reminded Loor of the Mirror Link boss in Zelda. Her brother always beat it for her though, since she never understood how to fight something that copied your every move. The whole of the water temple was confusing, but the game was still addicting. _Power over what? You seem rather helpless at the moment._

Perhaps this creature was much like that boss. Loor had fought it off, over and over again. Her anger, rage, frustration; every emotion that shadowed her usually logical thought patter, all concentrated into this figment of her imagination. Such a thing she could never talk about, since she was pretty sure someone would throw her into a loony bin for being schizophrenic. And still, no matter how much Loor fought it, thrown it off, and tried to get rid of it, she could never defeat it.

Why had she allowed this thing to even come to be? It was when she started having contact with people, when she stopped isolating herself. As this thing continued to thrive in Loor's head, it was always deeply rooted in the emotions she shunned so often.

_**Never mind... I don't want to deal with you right now. Just...**_ Loor opened her eyes, coming out of her own brain. It was a scary place, but only when she thought about it. _**Just shut up.**_

She heard nothing of a reply, and let off a sigh, turning back to the tree she had been beating up. It was wrong though. She may have been angry, but it was more than easy to fight such a thing with reason and logic. Each reason for her being angry had a reasonable explanation and a reason to ignore it, all logical and making perfect sense.

Yeah, that was Loor's Virgo side. Funny, no? She considered herself half Virgo, half Leo, since if she had been born on time she would have been a Leo, but was born a bit late and landed on the Virgo side. Of course, Leo owned her ego, her leadership, and her rampant emotions. Virgo fought it, with order and logic and always wanting to be alone.

On the other hand... Leo had a way of getting on top rather often.

_Okay..._ Her thoughts were her own again, at least, so she didn't have to constantly talk to herself out loud. _Reasons I'm angry... reasons I'm angry..._ She faced her tree again, bouncing on her feet and holding her stave ready. _Fury's getting attached to Kiba._

Three strikes, level with the head, gut, and knees. "It's okay for her to make friends... she seems happy. I shouldn't worry about that."

_That Neji kid is a freaking ass. _

Her hand shifted the weapon into the ground, walking up the tree, flipping, and coming back to her feet to pull the weapon out and whirl around, dealing an over powerful blow to the 'head' "As I've heard it, he's always been that way. I'm nothing special, so I shouldn't be getting up in a tiff over it."

Her mind was about to name another reason, but she already knew what it was. She needn't be mentally reminded of it, and felt an irate rage flare up. Without meaning to, she felt a chakra build from her chest to her hands, her blows becoming faster and more powerful, hardly thinking about how she hit the tree, or even what she was hitting.

All she thought about was the fact that she was hitting.

Panting slightly, she took several steps back when she was done, sitting on her ass and looking at various dents in the tree, parts of it missing bark. Her practice weapon had cracked up the middle from using too much force, and her hand was bleeding from the split pinching her skin. Not that she cared, she just sat there, glancing about.

Her eyes became attracted to the rising moon, as it was nearly full. Not quite, maybe a few days more, but it was getting there. Staring, she got a strange feeling in the back of her mind.

Something was missing... but what?

She tried to shake it, getting up and stretching, but couldn't. Now she was getting seriously distracted. Had she forgotten something? No, she didn't have anything to forget.

That's when it struck her, and she snorted, shaking her head, sending her deeper into the world of self-anger.

"Stupid little... sand worm." She muttered. Why the hell should she miss him if he didn't show up like he had the night before? He was a _boy._ The only reason she should have been caring about his presence is if she were planning on killing him, and she wasn't.

At least, not at the moment.

She tried to get back to training, but she was distracted. She had been distracted before, and for the same reason, but now that she had realized what was bothering her, it simply got worse as she tried, continuously, to tell herself that she couldn't care less on the matters of seeing him or not.

The truth was that it didn't matter what she told herself. She wanted to see him, and that was that.

She gave up on arguing with herself, putting her stave away across her back and looking about. Standing there, glancing in every direction, she noticed something odd.

The clearing was perfectly silent. Not bugs, no owls, nothing.

Something, besides herself, was in the area, and it frightened them.

"...Gaara?" She asked slowly, eyes scanning.

A moment later, the boy dropped down from a tree bordering the clearing.

"You little--"

"Sand worm?" He didn't say this in humor, he just questioned her, approaching quickly. His steps were long for someone his age, closing distance between himself and Loor.

"Well, I was going to say 'bitch' but that works too." Loor didn't back up as he walked up, staring. "Wait, how long have you been standing there?!"

"Since you started talking to yourself." He replied. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Tell you what?!" She snapped, glaring. He was right up in her face now, cold blue eyes glaring at her. He asked nothing of her, and his gaze was one that could kill. The only demand he made was with his voice, demanding information.

"That you hated me."

She twitched slightly, feeling her face go red. "What?" She then blanked. "Wait, how long _have_ you been following me?!"

"This morning." He answered. Loor watched his eyes, trying to pick up his intentions. Sadly, she could, and she was sure they included her death somewhere in the mix. She was on thin ice. "If you hate me, why do you want to help me?"

Loor tried to think back that long, but had to fast-forward to when herself and Fury were on their way to the hot springs. "Hold up... I never said I _hated_ you. I just said I didn't like you, and when I say that, I mean I don't _like_ like you, not that I downright hate your guts." She then sighed. "As for why I want to help you... I can't help it. It's just my nature."

Gaara glared at her, still seeming to be enraged. He had fists at his sides, clenched, searching her for deception. Then, slowly, he relaxed. "Do you still want to know?"

"Know...?" She paused, and then remembered her own question from the night before. "Depends. Are you gonna try and kill me again? I'm beginning to think that's your way of showing affection."

His gaze dropped from hers, backing off a little so he didn't crowd her. "Flashbacks... Shukaku uses them against me when he wants something." It sounded like he was apologizing. "The memory... was at hand for him."

"He still wants to kill me, huh?" Loor said this like one would describe unfavorable weather.

"Yes." He nodded slowly. "But..."

"But what, Gaara?" She questioned.

He lifted his head. "Will you really help me?"

Once again, the child in him had been exposed. He looked... so scared. He was reaching out a hand of trust, a hand that had been misplaced before on the wrong surfaces.

Loor offered him a smile. "I'll do what I can." She then sat, crossing her legs, and motioning for him to sit with her. Slowly, he complied, the gourd thumping on the ground as he sat. She noticed that his eyes flecked to her bleeding hand before going back to her face, her eyes.

"It was... six years ago, when I was six."

Loor listened to Gaara's story as best she could, attentive to any detail he cared to add, and aware of how traumatic this memory had to be one he exposed himself to it. This story though, it was one that could break your heart. In less than an hour, Loor was brought through the one night and day where Gaara's whole world came crashing down. From trying to get another child to play with him, to his uncle, Yashamaru, explaining love and wounds of the heart, to Gaara's dire attempts at crossing a bridge to friendship only to have it burned under him, and Yashamaru's dying breaths to be used telling Gaara the truth about what little love the boy was exposed to in his short life...

She held back tears, listening to that. Listening to the story of the curse that Gaara's mother gave as she gave birth to her last child before death.

Gaara told this story with indifference though, as if he had told it a thousand times and there was just no emotion left to convey. Only when he spoke of using the sand to give himself the tattoo, the only damage he had ever been able to do to himself as he accepted Shukaku, did he ever gain any voice inflection.

That inflection was pain.

"So..." Loor gave slowly. "I can't hurt you." It was all she could think of saying once he was done, his gaze back to the ground, as if she would try to run now that she knew.

"No... you can't. No one can. The sand protects me against my will." He slowly lifted his head. "Are you scared?"

"Well, after finding out you were a suicidal six year old, no. Not the homicide either, or the demon for that matter." Loor leaned forward to inspect the scar once more. "In all honesty, I'm fascinated. Don't have nothing like this at home, no sir."

"Can you help me...?" He asked, slowly, quietly.

"Can I?" She sighed, leaning back. "I can certainly try..." With that, she got up, and then offered him a hand to help him up. That gourd couldn't be very light.

He stared at her hand at first, as if he had no idea what to do with it. "You're bleeding." He stated.

She looked at her hand, raising an eyebrow. "Huh, would ya look at that?" She shrugged, offering the other hand instead. "Sorry."

Once again, he looked at her like he had no idea what she was doing.

"I'm trying to help you up." She gave flatly.

"But I don't need any help."

"It's a friendly gesture." She snorted, rolling her eyes. "Y'know, common courtesy and nice to do for other people?"

Very slowly, he lifted one hand to take hers. Once he had, she pulled him to his feet, smirking while letting go and stretching. "You don't have any concept of affection, do you?" She asked after a moment.

He shook his head no, shrugging. He had never needed a concept of affection.

She clicked her tongue. "So... you have no idea what its like to have friends, huh?"

He nodded, and she sighed.

"Man, that must be nice."


	31. Orochimaru

Just a little side note on this chapter, the scene at the end takes place DURING the Forest of Death phase of the exams. There was some confusion among my readers on this side of the computer, and I just wanted to clear that up.

**No ownage.**

OWTF!!!

(See you punk/s Friday)

**Markings- Chapter Thirty One**  
**Orochimaru**

Loor was up far too early, before the sun came up, shivering, having fallen asleep in her clearing once more. Glancing about, she found that Gaara wasn't there, though he had hung around while she was training. He didn't speak, he had just watched her as she talked about how much it sucked to have friends, since they actually cared about you and would give you crap for making stupid choices.

He had probably watched her pass out from exhaustion too.

Now, waking up before the sun, covered in cold water and a night sweat, Loor hefted a large yawn while sitting up. One hand felt around for her weapon, since it wasn't across her back, and she noticed something.

Loor looked at her hand, the one that had been bleeding the night before, and snickered. It had been bandaged, though she had no memory of such a thing taking place. Still, true as day, white wraps were over the wound she had inflicted upon herself.

She opened her palm to look at it from both sides, and started giggling. On the palm, in some type of marker, were symbols, some of the few kanji Loor had come to recognize.

_I win._

"No you don't." She muttered, yawning and getting up from her butt, shivering while lacing her stave through the back of her bra, the long wooden weapon only being a few feet away. After that, she found her jacket and tied it around her hips, starting to walk back for Lee's place.

God, she was happy she changed her mind about sneaking into the chunnins. That bed sounded _so_ good, and she didn't care who she ran into on the way home, she was going to get there.

At least... that's what she thought.

Her movements through Konoha were dazed and sleepy, her thoughts scattered to the four corners of the world and her memory not too far behind. She kept getting lost on her way home, taking wrong turns and nearly knocking into walls.

She was about to go headlong into a wall when someone grabbed her around the shoulders, stopping her from such.

"You know, I do that every now and then, but that's only when my glasses are fogged up."

Loor, drowsily, turned to find the Harry Potter wannabe behind her, and she yawned at him. "Good morning..." She mumbled.

"Didn't sleep?" He asked, smirking.

"Stayed out all night." She scratched at her own stomach, blinking a few times and then looking up and down the road. "What are you doing up at this ungodly hour?"

"I was looking for you."

_Zing!_

Loor suddenly woke up. Something in Kabuto's voice... She knew that tone. It was the 'I know something you don't know' tone, one of the few things in the world that could completely wake her up. She was on full alert, eyes wide, staring at Kabuto.

"Why would you be looking for me?" She asked slowly, backing up a step into the wall she had almost run into headlong.

"You know, Loor, I'm surprised with you." He snickered, not answering the question. The timid voice that Kabuto usually used around her was gone, replaced with strong tones and crushing authority with undertones of amusement. "You couldn't even recognize me, not even from the back, since that's all you saw of me the first time." A smile came across his face. "Pathetic."

"The... what?" Loor's sleep deprived mind was struggling to keep up here, but she was beginning to get it. Somewhere in her memory, things were coming together, but they took their damned time about it. "Wait..." Her eyes widened. "Sliver hair... purple outfit..." She growled, going to battle posture, about to roar at the top of her lungs. "You son of a---"

Her mind finally made the connection. The other man, the man with Orochimaru when she watched her family be murdered, was Kabuto.

Oh snap.

Kabuto slapped a hand over her mouth, suddenly behind her, the other arm around her shoulders, keeping her from attacking. "Easy, Loor, don't want to wake up the whole neighborhood."

She bit at his hand, spitting and kicking, though quieter when she was able to speak again. "Where is he Kabuto?? Where the fuck is he so I can fucking kill him??"

"Not far." Kabuto cooed, smirking. "Not far at all. He's actually waiting for you."

"Where's Fury?! Have you done anything to her??"

He snickered, letting go of her and hopping a few feet away. "Why don't you follow me and find out?" He then grinned. "On the other hand, that's your choice. Fury _would_ look rather cute as a mangled corpse."

That was the last straw. Loor's mind took all caution and threw it to the wind, dashing at Kabuto to have the man move. She didn't care, spitting and panting as she began to follow him, drained and tripping over everything as they returned to the woods.

Her rage had returned, stronger than ever. Kabuto was the other man... Kabuto helped Orochimaru kill her family.

Kabuto had to die.

Roaring, Loor put on a bit more speed, trying to keep up best she could. It was a frantic run through the woods, but she never lost him. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she _knew _that he was teasing her, that he was letting her keep up, not that she was managing on her own merit.

She was too blind with rage to notice that, hopping over everything in her way, including the knocked out guard who was wearing a white mask, without a second glance. Panting, she slowed slightly when they came upon the clear ring around where Kabuto was taking her.

The Forest of Death.

She stared, feeling her own spittle dripping down her chin from exhaustion and her own frenzied actions, and watching Kabuto jump _over_ the fence as if it were five inches instead of twenty five feet tall.

She moved to follow him, tripped, and didn't bother to move when she landed on the grass. It was far too comfortable to refuse, and she passed out before Kabuto could come back over the fence for her.

When Loor would wake up, she would be within the forest with no memory of Kabuto revealing himself, instead believing that she had been within the village talking to him when she blacked out.

The joy of memory jutsu.

* * *

"Loor?!" Fury called, the sun just coming up. Her call was echoed by four other voices, Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and Kiba. The girl had gone missing, and Lee had come in worry to Fury since the girl had not been in the usual clearing, where she'd be if she passed out. Lee had gone for long-range recon, and Fury got some help on searching the woods for the girl. _"Onee-san!!"_

Naruto ran up to Fury, skidding to a stop beside her. "Found... anything yet?" He panted, having been sprinting every which way since he heard that his new friend had gone missing. Sakura had been worried too. Even Sasuke expressed a little concern.

"Nope..." Fury looked down, kicking the ground, frowning. "I mean... I have one guess of where she might be... but I don't want to think that she'd do that to me."

"Do what?"

"She promised she wouldn't do it... right?" Fury mused, not quite hearing Naruto. "She said she wouldn't go into the Forest of Death, gave her word, promised that she wouldn't go back on it... right? She shouldn't... right?" She now looked at Naruto, her feelings crushed. She felt betrayed, and was holding back tears. "She wouldn't have... right? It's dangerous... if she went in there... she might not come back. I need her to come back... she can't leave me."

Naruto saw where Fury's emotions were, but had no idea how to comfort her. "I'm sure she didn't." Was all he could say. "If she promised, she didn't do it."

Fury wanted to believe that... so much. She wanted to believe that Loor had been a good and responsible big sister and didn't go off doing stupid things, but the evidence of the blond's absence overpowered anything else that could be presented to Fury.

Loor had gone. Loor had broken her promise.

Fury fell to her knees, curled upon herself to Naruto didn't have to watch her cry.

"Hey, hey!" Naruto yelped, leaning by her. "C'mon, she has to be somewhere around. And even if she _is _in there, maybe someone made her go in? Maybe she said she wouldn't, and she was just coming home, and someone kidnapped her or something! Yeah, that's it!! Believe it!"

Fury was huffing, her head on the ground, tears hitting the grass. "Loor...? Kidnapped...? Are you trying to be funny, Naruto?" Her voice was weak, sniffing and trying to breathe properly.

Sakura and Sasuke entered the area together, and saw Fury crumpled on the ground. At once, Sasuke went into combat mode, glancing about, and Sakura ran up, putting her arms around Fury to try and comfort her. "C'mon Fury, we're gonna find her."

"If you wanna find her, you're looking in the wrong place!" Fury's tears had become angry now, lifting her head and licking the salt off of her upper lip. She panted, coughing twice before being able to be straight, her strobing breath and hiccups making it hard to talk. "She's gone off where she promised she wouldn't go!"

"Not quite."

Three people glanced back, Kiba and Akamaru entering the clearing. Fury hadn't bothered to look, just hiding her face again, not wanting to be seen like this. "What makes you say that...?" She asked, weakly.

"You forgot about my sense of smell, didn't you Fury?" He snickered. "I went to her usual clearing and followed the path she took. Sure, she may have gone to the forest of death on her own, but she was chasing someone... or running with someone. I can't tell by the scent, but she was either really pissed or scared out of her mind, or both."

"What...?" Fury wiped her eyes with the hem of her shirt, looking at him as he came up to her, lightly prodding Sakura out of the way to hug Fury.

"She didn't go there on her own, Fury. Someone was with her."

"Do you know who?" Fury asked quickly. It could have been Orochimaru's partner!!

"That's the problem. I think this person knew he or she was going to get tracked, because the scent is altered. They were wearing something to screw it up, so they don't smell normal. Keeps dogs and people like me from pinning down who they are." He sighed. "But whoever they were, they led Loor up to the one broken gate of the Forest of Death, let Loor pass out, and carried her over the fence."

"But... she didn't go?" Fury asked.

"Not willingly."

Fury sniffled, returning the hug, hoping she didn't get his shoulder too soggy.

"We have to tell Kakashi." Sasuke's voice came from the side of the clearing much like the 'voice or reason' every adult in the world tells every kid to listen to. "She shouldn't be in there, its dangerous."

"No."

Four sets of eyes locked onto Fury as she pushed herself to her feet. Kiba could see that she was shaking, hardly holding it together, but she had something on her mind, her own voice of reason, and it didn't agree with Sasuke's. "No?" Sakura asked, puzzled.

"No." Fury swallowed. "If our enemy did this... instead of outright killing Loor, then they want her alive, right? They won't kill her if they want her for something, want her enough to drag her down there while she can't even fight..."

"So you're gonna wait and see what it is?" Naruto questioned.

"Yeah..." Fury nodded. "Not to mention Loor would probably kill herself if she got rescued again."

"They could have brought Loor to the forest to kill her quietly." Sasuke warned. "Are you sure you want us to keep quiet about this?"

"Yeah." Fury nodded, looking at him. "Think about it Sasuke. If they wanted to kill her, they have miles and miles of forest to do it in and more than a thousand places to dump the body. Instead, they choose the one spot she isn't supposed to go... I think it's a test."

"What kind?" Kiba questioned.

"No idea..." Fury took a deep breath, trying to keep calm. "But we'll find out."

Kiba nodded, getting up. "I'll go find that other guy and tell him... he's probably worried sick."

He was talking about Lee. Fury nodded. "Go. No one says a word to any of the sensei until _after_ that portion of the exam has started, okay?"

Slowly, the four there nodded, agreeing.

Not a word... not till the Forest of Death.

* * *

When Loor woke, it was slow. She came around with little to no awareness of where she was. Everything was a spinning mass of ash-brown and a million shades of green, and black. Lots of black, making her dizzy, making her sick.

Slowly, she forced her eyes to focus on whatever was above her, seeing no light from above but feeling the day's heat. Her nose picked up a thousand smells from exotic flowers, plants, animals, and trees. Above her, she saw a thick green canopy, not letting any light through and almost making the area nighttime dark.

The next step was sitting up and looking around.

When she did, she almost couldn't believe her eyes.

She sat upon a massive tree branch, one that extended out of her sight range and intertwined with several others from other gigantic trees. No way these trees were naturally this big, not in a million years of growth. The branch she had been passed out on had to have at least ten feet of walkable area before it tilted too much to step upon without slipping. There were thousands of off shoots and leaves and birds camped out on the many different limbs.

Loor got dizzy again, sitting on her hands and knees as she looked about, trying to puzzle out this sight in her mind. How did she get here? Where _was_ here? Why was she here?

She closed her eyes trying to remember, though those memories were few and far between from this morning. She remembered the bandage on her hand, a bandage that was still in place, and meeting Kabuto in the village... and blacking out... why had she blacked out? Exhaustion? Most likely. Still, that made no sense. She passed out there, so she should have been back at Lee's place or a hospital or something... but she was here.

But where was here?

She didn't have a clue, and she had even less of a clue when it came to what time it was. It felt like the heat of the day, but a canopy had a way of trapping heat. It could have been midnight the next day and she wouldn't have known it.

Slowly, Loor forced herself to her feet, and looked at the tree that she was standing upon. One again, she could hardly think about its size. Wider than a corporate building, and taller too, it was scary to look at. Even more frightening, all of the trees were like that. Huge, limbs reaching out great distances and mixing up with each other, making false ground in some areas where so many branches had interlocked, and the darkness making it look like there was no ground below.

That nearly made Loor sick. She was so high that she couldn't see the actual ground.

Still, she'd have to swallow a little bit of her fear and check out her situation. Turning towards the trunk of this tree, she looked up. It disappeared into the canopy, but Loor wanted to know what time it was, so she'd have to climb beyond that.

Focusing her chakra, she started walking up the tree. It was precarious, and she did her very best to be careful and not make a single mistake. Still, her palms started sweating as she kept getting higher and higher, passing vines of the canopy, scaring off birds, and eventually coming to where she could use the branches to climb as the tree narrowed. She was scared out of her mind, aware of how high she had to be, but tried not to think about it.

It felt like eternity before she broke through, finally able to see the sky.

Moonlight bathed her face. The near full moon covered everything in a blue wash, allowing Loor to see a fair bit from where she was. On the other hand, all there was to see were trees, trees, and, oh, more trees.

She started to feel dizzy again. She was so high in the air... too high. The air was thinner up here... she quickly started climbing down before she started getting sick. The climb down was even scarier than the climb up, and took longer because, while walking down, she stopped at every limb to catch her breath. It was like hiking a mountainside, only she was going down.

Soon enough though, she made it back to where she had started. Okay... it was the middle of the night, and she still had little to no clue where in the forest she was.

On the other hand, that wasn't going to matter in a few moments.

"Welcome, Loor."

The girl yelped, turning around to face the trunk of the tree once more. It would seem a man was walking _out _of the tree, as if morphing right out of it's bark. He was a pale man, looking to be about twenty but having the air of someone older. His long black hair draped over his shoulders, and his voice was soft and hissing, like a snake. A dominant smirk was on his face, a white face of a perfect porcelain doll, as yellow eyes glinted at her.

Yellow slitted eyes, like that of a serpent. His eyes were accented with purple around them, a design that looked to be tattooed on rather than make-up, following the curve of his nose and brow, pointing, and lightly following around his eyes. He wore gold earrings of the same design, curved with a hole in the middle, and a tan split tunic with black pants and shirt underneath, a purple rope obi at his middle, tied in an upturned bow behind his back.

Those eyes evoked fear, evoked her memories.

"Orochimaru..." She breathed.

"Glad you remember me."


	32. Curse Mark Heaven

And the promised update.

Enjoy… MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!

I win.

**No ownage.**

OWTF!!

**Markings- Chapter Thirty Two  
****Curse Mark- Heaven**

Loor stared for several seconds at the man that was the root of her current emotional rage. Her first impulse was to attack, but restrained herself. That impulse would get her killed. No, she could sense the fact that she was in way over her head.

Which meant she'd have to be smart about this, or she'd never get out alive.

Orochimaru stood with a dictator's air, arms crossed, a smug smirk across his lips. "I'm surprised with you, Loor." He said, voice slithering through the air, melodic and almost hypnotic. "I thought you'd try to kill me, seeing as you hate me so much. On the other hand, perhaps you've already realized that a mere month's training will hardly make you a match for me."

He was playing her emotions, and she tried not to rise to it. Her fists clenched, all too tempted. Still, she held her poise. "If I rushed you... I'd be dead."

"Bravo, you're smarter than I thought." His voice teased, patronizing. "On the other hand, it doesn't matter what you do." He chuckled. "After team seven, I doubt I'll even break a sweat dealing with you."

"Team seven?!" Loor snorted, feeling several muscles twitch. "What the hell did you do? Where are they??"

"Oh, they're all alive." He snickered. "Though... Naruto passed out after a few bouts, and we'll say that Sasuke's seen better days. I left Sakura all alone to care for them, and alone is never a good way to be in the Forest of Death, much less during the chunnin exams. Why, one enemy shinobi, and she'd be done." He chuckled. "How delightful."

"You son of a bitch!" Loor drew her cracked weapon, twisting it in her bandaged hand. "It's one thing to mess with me, buddy boy, and you fucked yourself, killing my family, but screwing with my friends is more than pushing it!!

"What are you going to do?" He seemed to almost laugh, though he didn't. One second, he was in front of her, the next, he was behind her. "Poke me with that twig?"

Her heart leapt into her throat, the memory racing back. Still, she yanked back, out of her frozen moment and back into reality, hopping away while turning, stave out to catch nothing but air. He had already moved again. He was above her, stuck to a tree limb, upside down and grinning at her. "Tell me Loor, do I scare you?"

"No!" She snapped, glaring up. "And you're going to die for what you did!!"

"Die?" He snickered. "Dear girl, I plan to be immortal."

Loor stared for a few seconds, and then bent slightly. He watched her as she went to her legs, lifting her pants very quickly to undo her weights. Sixty pounds were shed from either leg, and left on the tree branch. Suddenly, one hundred twenty pounds lighter, she grinned and felt like her chances of life just improved. "You're gonna regret messing with me, buddy boy. Just one question though... why?"

"Why?" Orochimaru snickered. "As in why did I kill your family? Well..." He dropped down from the upper limb. "It was convenient."

What little calm Loor had managed was blown away by that simple statement. She flew forward, fast as lightening, towards Orochimaru, her stave upraised and eyes wide, looking for a sign of his moving somewhere else.

She missed though, his speed blinding fast. It almost seemed that he didn't move, that she was simple chancing an image about and failing continuously in any strike she attempted. She entertained him, obviously. With growing anger, she became frenzied.

She couldn't think... about anything. She knew when she started sinking into a rage. She couldn't remember how she moved or where she moved, or even how she knew where he had gone. Her stave was hardly a weapon, more of a continuation as she kept trying to attack him. No matter how hard she tried though, she failed.

And the exhaustion was coming back.

"Child's play, Loor. I thought you were above such things." Orochimaru snickered. "Perhaps I should just finish this now."

"I'd like to see you try!" She stood, slightly bent, as their strange dance paused.

"Then watch."

Loor gasped as he did something stranger than strange, shock keeping her from reacting as she was suddenly knocked off of their current fighting platform, flying through the air, feeling her back hit various smaller branches, breaking through such off-shoots, before she hit hard on a larger limb, the wind getting knocked out of her lungs. She never admit to screaming, but that was as close as it got to the sound she made, falling straight down after hitting in such a fashion, landing belly first ten feet lower on another limb.

That... _thing..._ She looked up, and saw Orochimaru forty feet away on the limb she had just been standing on, the thing he had hit her with recoiling.

It had to be some sort of jutsu, it had to be. No way that could be natural.

Orochimaru had some sort of technique with his tongue, like a jutsu probably, that made it as long as he wanted it, strong enough to make a person fly forty feet or more, and very dexterous. It was what he had just smacked Loor with.

She flashed on her past memory. Orochimaru had done something of the same back at the sight of her family's death, when he knocked her off the deck.

She felt sick as she watched his tongue sink back into his mouth, licking his lips before the tip sunk out of sight. "I could beat you with both hands behind my back, Loor. On the other hand, I can fight almost anyone like that." He grinned. "The joy of power, no?"

"That's freaking sick, man..." She couldn't help but mutter. "And just a little kinky. If you call that power, you've spent too much time in adult book stores."

He didn't rise to the insult, suddenly behind her again. She felt his hand on her back, grabbing her only upper garment to lift her to her feet. She had no strength left to fight him. She hadn't eaten in almost a day, neglecting such a need, and was also sleep deprived over a month of training that she hardly ever took any down time for. Her stave dropped out of her hand.

She was done.

"Do you think I want to kill you?" He asked, his hand leaving her back, clearing her blond hair to one side.

"Everyone's been telling me... that you'd come back and finish the job... so I assume so."

"Assume nothing." He hissed. "I don't want to kill you, Loor. Your family... they were pathetic, easy to kill and toss aside." She could feel it, the air from his words on her shoulder. "But you're different... you hunger for power. I can see it, sense it, almost taste it... and I can give you the power that you want. It's too easy..."

"The only reason I want power is so I can kill you, and anyone else who threatens my sister and my friends." She growled. "Why in the hell would you give me power, knowing that?"

_"Because_, Loor, I know better than to assume you'll still think that way when I'm done with you." His hands assumed her shoulders, thin fingers spreading. "I will have the world... and you will have a share of it if you only choose to follow me... and become powerful."

She could feel it, temptation going through her. Power? Heh, like anything could change her mind, and if he did train her to be powerful...

A plan bloomed in Loor's head. What if... she pretended to follow long enough to become powerful, and kill him whilst his back was turned? "And by follow, you mean...?" She might as well know the job description.

"Train, listen, and follow my every order..." He smirked. "To kill, to destroy, to do anything and everything that I ask."

Her how body threw away from him. "A servant, then?!" She snarled. "Fuck that!!"

He grinned, his hands coming together. She saw it the hand sign he formed, but didn't recognize it. He crossed the fingers on both hands, and then locked his pinky and ring fingers together like on the tiger hand sign. She felt a great deal of energy coming up through him as this sign directed it up through him, and she stared, backing up. She was almost scared, almost frightened.

She almost wanted to run.

"I never said you had a choice." He snarled.

The jutsu activated, and Loor screamed.

* * *

The chunnins had started that morning, taking everyone Fury knew first for a written exam, and then off into the Forest of Death, where the teams would spend three days playing the most violent game of capture the flag on earth. Of course, her mind was full of worry about Loor, and stood outside the fence surrounding the forest on the night of the first day, knowing that she could do nothing aside from what she had already done. Still, she couldn't sleep, and refused to as long as Loor was still in there.

It was the plan that after everyone had gone into the forest for Fury to go to Kakashi and tell him that Loor was missing, and her intentions to go into the forest. Of course, Kakashi quickly assembled a team of three Jonin, including himself, to go find the girl and bring her back before she got herself killed.

Fury, team seven, Lee, and Kiba were not the only ones rattled by Loor's vanishing act. It would seem the sand siblings, or at least Temari, were curious about where the blond youth had got off to.

Still, now everyone was gone, into the forest, leaving Fury to pace back and forth just outside the fence, huffing and stomping, wondering what she could do...

What should she do? She didn't know, and her thoughts kept thinking about all the horrible things that could be happening to Loor.

The worst of these thoughts what that Loor could be dead.

Funny, that Fury didn't know the horror that had already befallen team seven, and that Orochimaru had wormed his way into the exams using a type of 'second skin' jutsu, killing a grass nin and taking her appearance as his own to get in undetected. Little did Loor know that this disguise had been burned off by a well-placed fire jutsu from Sasuke, being why Orochimaru was in his natural form.

Neither of them knew about what Orochimaru had done to Naruto, and less of what the man had done so Sasuke. If Fury knew, she'd be a bit more worried.

If she were any more worried, Fury's head would probably explode.

Glancing up at the near full moon, Fury had to think once again of what her and Loor could have been doing on a night like this. They could be training, or hanging out at the ramen bar even if it was closed, or better yet, sleeping. Loor wouldn't be in a near death situation that Fury couldn't even imagine, and Fury wouldn't be left outside feeling useless.

Of course, passing every now and then was an ABUN guard, making sure all was well with the exams and the single bystander. ABUN shinobi were top level, just under the Hokage, and all of them wore masks on their missions to hide who they were. These makes were white and in the shapes of animal faces. The one guard who kept passing by Fury had a dog mask, and she had gotten used to calling him 'hound.'

"Don't you have a home to go to?" Hound asked, passing again. He seemed friendly enough for a marines type guy.

Fury sighed. "Yeah, but I can't..."

"You shouldn't worry." Hound snickered. "If Kakashi is looking for your sister, she's as good as found, I don't care what anyone says."

"Whatever, Hound... I'll believe it when I see her." Fury stopped walking back and forth, sitting down and crossing her legs. "I just hate how she keeps getting into messes like this."

"Accident prone?"

"Naw..." Fury sighed. "She's just a trouble magnet."

Hound shrugged, turning back into the woods to continue on his rounds, leaving Fury alone to stare up at the moon again. "Loor... where are you?"

As if in answer, a scream echoed across the woods that brought Fury to her feet.

* * *

Loor's scream was half horror, watching as the jutsu caused an inhuman stretching of Orochimaru's neck, like the body of a snake, across the distance between them, his mouth becoming a maw with two large fangs, and something of a mask rather than a face. The other half was pain, those two fangs sinking into the base of her neck before she could think, nearly bringing her to her knees for some reason. She didn't know why, it shouldn't have hurt that much. Still, it did, pain spreading through her like wildfire, her scream dying out and pain taking her over, making her fall when his neck went back to normal, his head back on his shoulders.

If Loor could see it, which she couldn't, there was no bite mark. Left upon her skin was a single marking of three teardrop shaped blots on her neck, the fat ends nearly touching and the thin tips out. Her hand clasped over this marking, as pain radiated from it.

Orochimaru, smirking, walked up to her and leaned down. "The heaven curse mark..." He took a hold of her chin, making her look up, seeing that she was in pain. "Just a little parting gift, Loor. We'll be seeing each other again, soon."

She fell onto her side as the man vanished, shaking violently and trying to scream again. She couldn't though; fragmented breath caught in a bubble and making little half-words come out of her mouth as she kept trying to curse and talk.

One of the few times in her life, Loor knew she needed help. She knew it completely, leaving nothing for her ego to try and say she could do it on her own. She was in agony, could hardly breathe, and was in the middle of the forest. Not a good combination.

Rolling over, as close to the edge of the tree limb that she could get, she started to cry as her stomach painful expelled the empty fluids in her gut, seeing as it had been a while since she had eaten anything. She hated the smell of the bile, and it made her vomit again, gasping for breath and holding her stomach, even though everything felt like it was on fire and spinning out of control.

"My... my head..." She muttered, reaching for the mentioned body part, "Oh... fuck... fucking Orochimaru..."

Exhaustion tried to claim her again, but she fought it, trying to stand as the vile puddle that had been expelled from her body began to flow along of the curvature of the tree limb, eventually dripping off. Somewhere in the back of Loor's head, she _really_ hoped no one was standing under that, but the thought didn't have much time to be in her mind. The second she made an attempt at standing, she had to fall down again. _Everything _hurt, as if the Oro-bastard had somehow sapped her strength with that bite.

She began to whimper, unable to do anything but lay herself out on her back and get herself away from the edges of the tree limb, panting in pain and closing her eyes, since it was painful to keep them open. She could feel herself slipping away, blacking out again. It wasn't a present feeling, seeing as she knew she could do nothing to stop herself. She just tried to breath more, to keep conscious.

She failed, going under. Still, this was strange, different, from blacking out. One usually faints from a lack of oxygen getting to the brain; breathing fixes it. It was more like she was forced into the black, being strangled from the inside.

Even stranger, she could still feel the pain. The awareness of her body was gone, but that pain simply bloomed in her mind, like blood, saturating everything it touched.

Then, with the pain, bloomed a nightmare. It was a nightmare Loor had been through before, but this seemed much more real than her usual nightmares.

In this nightmare, she stood alone, facing her home, on the deck. She watched now, a much more solid form of Orochimaru killing her family within the house as apposed to the shadow of the memory she used to keep, and a purple shadow beside him, his unknown partner.

Loor watched as, once again, the family dog was sliced in half. Roaring, reaching for the weapon on her back, she broke the window instead of opening the door to strike Orochimaru from the back, before her mother would be killed. She rowed the weapon to bring them both down, knocking the shadow back and Orochimaru forward.

It went through both of them, showing she had no control over the living things in this nightmare, just the inanimate objects.

Without control, she had to watch it again... she stood within her own home, watch as Orochimaru 'conveniently' killed her family again. He started with her parents, of course, and then turned upon Loor, knocking her back outside with that strange tongue of his, laughing as she landed upon the broken glass of the door and rolled, hitting her again to make her fly off of the deck. She refused to voice her pain, flying far and landing hard.

She always got back up, but stayed down this time. She didn't want to get up, as everything in this nightmare hurt more and more with every passing second. She didn't want it to hurt anymore, listening to the death of her brother and sister, crying.

_"You could have protected them if you were more powerful."_

That voice... the pain made Loor almost forget that was Orochimaru's voice calling her out, lifting her head to look at the mental projection of him that had invaded her mind. _"They're already dead."_

_"Your sister isn't. Your friends aren't." _Orochimaru had offered her a hand down, smirking. _"Follow me, Loor. Become powerful, and you'll never need to worry about having enough power to protect them again."_

_"And if I refuse?"_

_"The curse mark will crush your neck from the inside."_

Moments later, Loor completely blacked out; right after fostering the image of herself taking Orochimaru's hand.

* * *

Gaara had killed someone.

Three someones, actually, a whole team of Nin that had made him angry simply by looking at him funny. So close to the full moon, little menial things like that were quick to set him off, and three deaths threatened to send him into a rampage. Still, back during that moment, even though he had sensed other nin being close, Temari and Kankuro had forced him to put his cork back and keep walking. They already had the scrolls they needed to complete the exam, and it was hardly five hours in.

Killing... the one thing that made him feel alive. Every time they passed close to another team, his siblings knew that he felt the urge, thirsted for that feeling, addicted to proving his own existence. There were hundreds of nin crawling through the forest, surly no one would mind if he happened to kill off half of them?

Even if they did, he didn't really care. He still wanted to.

One may wonder how Gaara knew someone was there without seeing them, but having an immense bulk of chakra increased a sense related to it, feeling other people's energy. Everyone had their own signature, making him able to keep track of his brother and sister at all times, and the few other people in the world that he was yet to kill, such as Baki sensei.

They were nearing the central tower that they had to reach to complete the exercise when Gaara stopped. Once again, his senses were picking up another shinobi, somewhere above them. But...

"Ew... what's that smell?" Kankuro's voice asked, sounding rather rude.

"Bile." Temari answered. "Someone had to have eaten something that didn't agree with them around here."

"They're still here..." Gaara muttered, still looking up. He felt up, reaching for the other person's energy to identify it.

He nearly recoiled when he did.

"...eh, Gaara?" Kankuro asked as the boy began to walk slightly off of the path himself and his siblings had been taking. "The tower is this way."

"Go ahead without me." Gaara commanded, still walking. "I'll catch up."

Temari gave a look to her little brother. "Gaara... who's up there?"

"Someone who shouldn't be." The boy turned his head only slightly. "I told you to get going. Now do it."

Slowly, Temari and Kankuro complied, and Gaara was left to determine what tree the person was on. It didn't take long, finding the puddle that the smell of coming off of, vomit still dripping from somewhere above, and walking up the tree, the ground quickly receding out of sight. This forest would play tricks on you, making you think you were higher than you were. Some people in the chunnins died here, or lost their minds, or were simply ruined for life.

Soon enough, he came upon the occupied limb, and looked with slight surprise that he had identified her correctly. She lay there, beside where her stomach had ejected it's contents, in a tortured sleep. Her eyes dashed back and forth under the lids, breathing heavily through her mouth, whimpering, sweating.

Anyone with any chakra sense could see something... deep purple energy, like some sort of toxin, leaking from her body into the air, doing something to her that caused the pain.

"Loor..." He named her out loud, walking up slowly, leaning down to look at her face, to see it twisted up in pain. Was this how she looked while she was afraid? He didn't like it. He preferred her cocky smile to her furrowed brow and the graceless line of agony across her face that was her lips. His icy eyes scanned her, and came upon something odd.

There was a... strange mark on the base of her neck, right where it met the shoulder. Slowly, one hand came to her, brushing her hair away and lightly touching this mark... it was black, a mark of three tear-drop shaped marks grouped together.

His fingertips brushed it, and he knew this was the source of her pain. At close range, he also noticed that she was sweating and shaking violently, and had a fever to go with all of the conditions she already had.

She needed help.

Slowly, Gaara came to his feet, looking left and right slowly, calmly, aware of his three options in this situation. One, of course, was that he could put her out of her misery, but that didn't appeal to him. Next, just as obvious, was that he could leave her here, but that risked some other blood thirsty nin coming across her and killing her anyway.

For some reason... he didn't want that. That left him with his last option. Sighing, he removed his cork from the gourd, making simple work with sand control to pick her up off of the ground, wrapping her body in a protective sphere that took very little power to have float about after him. Strange, that he could feel with the sand. If she moved, he would know. Particular parts of the sand were thinner, letting air through, but the bubble would be like his own shield when people attacked him.

Impenetrable.

He made the decision to take her to the tower, where someone could help her. There had to be some official there, waiting to greet those who survived the test. With that decision made, he started walking, the sphere following after him rather close to the ground. When he caught up to Temari and Kankuro, they both gave funny looks to this ball, but knew better than to ask.

They continued on their way to the tower, unknowing of the tree man team that had just landed at Loor's previous location; Kakashi, Kurenai, and Asuma, looking for her. Sadly, all they found were her leg weights and a puddle of bile.


	33. Saving Disaster

Loor is back, oh yeah! It's five updates this week, and you'd better enjoy 'em cause I worked hard! XD

**No ownage.**

OWTF!!

**Markings- Chapter Thirty Three  
****Saving Disaster**

Temari was confused.

She had a great right to be confused, along with Gaara's other elder sibling. First, Gaara deviates off of the path for an unknown reason, returns with an orb of the sand following him for some odd reason and refuses to talk about it, and finally the younger sibling had not exhibited a single homicidal urge for the rest of the way to the tower. If anything, the red head seemed most passive all of the sudden, which was very odd.

Temari wondered what was in the orb, simply because it had to be the cause of all this. Gaara had left to get it, was still carrying it, and was avoiding danger to protect it. On the other hand, both herself and Kankuro knew better than to ask. Gaara would choose either not to answer or simply threaten them for asking.

It was not until they made it to the tower that the question was answered. It would seem that the sand siblings were the first to arrive at the tower, and Gaara didn't even stop to sit when they entered. At once, the youth started scanning about, walking. Kankuro complained a little, as a prod, about wanting to take a load off, but this got a glare from his younger brother.

Temari didn't question, following the youngest and telling the middle child to 'rest if he wanted.'

Kankuro followed the group anyway as Gaara started doing an extensive search of the tower. They found no one. No adults, no other genin, no one. It was empty and silent, the only sound coming from the occasional security camera moving. In one of the many large rooms that made up the old and decrepit tower, Gaara took notice of one of these cameras.

Temari could almost sense an idea forming in his head. Without a word, still staring at the security camera, the ball of sand set upon the ground and split in two, revealing its contents while the sand flowed back to Gaara and the gourd.

Both Temari and Kankuro were rather shocked.

"Loor...?" Temari asked, walking up slowly to the unconscious girl on the ground.

"She needs help." Gaara said simply, still staring at the camera.

"No shit." Kankuro now came over, looking at the girl. "Man, she looks like she's been through hell..."

"Check this." Temari pushed Loor's head to one side, exposing the left side of her neck, where it joined her shoulder. "That's a weird ass bruise."

"Too dark to be a bruise." Kankuro gave, sitting down, putting a hand to clear hair away from Loor's face. "Fuck, she's got a fever too. How the hell did she even get in here?"

"No clue... she's not even a genin, and she doesn't have a team, so she couldn't have entered... but that means she came in against the rules... she broke in." Temari mused this out loud, thinking. "But she was healthy a few days ago... what's all this?"

"She was healthy last night." Gaara sighed, looking away from the camera, and down at Loor. He didn't stoop, as his brother and sister had, simply looking. "Something else has happened to her, I doubt its sickness. Her chakra signature has been altered..."

"Altered...?" Temari glanced the girl up and down again, watching as the cold air of the room made the girl shiver in her sleep. At seeing this, Temari reflexively grabbed Loor, bringing the girl up into her lap like a mother would a child. She raised her two little brothers, so it was an instinct of sorts. She got Kankuro's help in laying her flat, getting the jacket that was tied around Loor's hips and casting it over her chest, like a blanket. It didn't help much, but it was all they could do.

A few moments later, the door to the room banged open. The sand siblings looked to see that three leaf Jonin had entered; Kakashi, Kurenai, and Asuma.

"We're here for Loor." Kakashi took the lead, and a step forward.

Temari nodded, stooping to pick the younger blond up and carrying her over bridal style. Kakashi took her, nodding. Nothing was said, and Kakashi quickly left with the two other Jonin.

Gaara watched, his mind slightly more at ease now that he knew she was taken care of.

* * *

"Oh my god... what happened to her??"

Those would be the first words out of Fury's mouth when she saw Loor lying on a hospital bed. Of course, the girl was still as worse for wear as she was while she was in the forest, which would be the cause of Fury's dismay.

"She had a little run in..." Kakashi, who had brought Fury in, sighed. Also present in the room would be the other two Jonin, Asuma and Kurenai, along with the person in charge of the Forest of Death phase of the exams; a woman named Anko. She was a woman of strong stature, willing to show off her power as well as her skin, her off-black hair tied back into a spiraled knot. She also had something else.

A mark much like the one on Loor's neck, in the exact same spot. Her tan coat covered it, but if anyone knew about the marks, the nature of them, and Orochimaru, Anko did. "She must have really pissed him off... or she's gotta be real special." Anko sighed, shaking her head. "He usually only goes after kids with special abilities..."

"What is it??" Fury asked, frantic at seeing the mark on Loor's neck. The hospital room being crammed didn't help her mood much. "What 'he?' Orochimaru??"

Kurenai put a hand on Fury's shoulder, nodding. "Yes. He's here."

"Anko, we should be shutting the exams down." Kakashi gave, looking at her. "The village should go into a state of emergency at once."

"We can't..." Anko sighed.

Fury was getting rather confused, and flustered. "Wadda ya mean you can't!??" She crowed. "My big sister looks like she's about to die!"

"That doesn't matter." Anko shook her head. "I saw him out there... If we stop the exams, he promised a horror show. I don't want to know what he'll do to the leaf village."

"But..." Fury glanced around, grabbing Loor's hand, her eyes wide. To say she was scared didn't cover it. It was like the worst horror movie in the world for real, and she couldn't do anything but sit there! "What's gonna happen to Loor...? What's the thing on her neck...?"

"A curse mark, the heaven mark to be exact." Anko answered, walking over to the bed to look down at Loor, who had started to sweat again, her temperature going up. "Curse marks, usually, are ways for Orochimaru to keep his more powerful followers in line, giving those with special abilities a bit of a boost." Her hand brushed the mark on Loor's neck, staring. "Why he'd mark a kid like Loor... I'm not quite sure. But if he so chooses to give her an order and she doesn't follow it, that thing on her neck can cause her unbearable pain. It's a type of leash, but it also increases the cursed subjects power ten fold when it's activated."

"Activated...?" Fury asked slowly.

Anko nodded. "Usually, the mark lays dormant, but may activate according to the heat of battle or emotional extremes, or if Orochimaru says so. When it activates, it will cause some reaction with who it's been given to... though everyone is different."

"I don't think Orochimaru realizes who he just gave that to then..." Fury muttered. "Loor doesn't have much of a handle on her emotions. She's quick to lose it when she's overwhelmed... she'll explode and attack everything."

"That's exactly what he wants."

There was a long silence at that, and Kakashi got up to take the wet rag off of Loor's forehead and cool it off before replacing it again. Slowly, Kurenai and Asuma left, though both Kakashi and Anko lingered for several moments longer.

"You'll seal it?" Anko asked Kakashi.

"Yes. It makes it... a little safer. Still, she'll probably break it herself if she's provoked."

"Seal it?" Fury asked, looking away from Loor for a second.

"A curse seal," Kakashi gave, looking at her. "It'll give her some reprieve to the effects of the curse mark itself, but only if she resists them. If she attempts to activate it anyway... the seal will beak."

"When will you do that?" Fury's next question.

"As soon as she's up and moving." Kakashi assured. "I'm sure she'd like to know her predicament before someone goes to fix it."

"I'm still confused on _why_ Orochimaru did this... he doesn't mark people for fun... usually." Anko shook her head. "It doesn't make any sense."

Kakashi got up, to leave. "Fury, you'll call when she's awake, right?"

"Of course." Fury nodded.

"Good. With that settled, I'm going to wait out in the hall... this room is rather small."

Anko nodded as Kakashi left, looking at Loor one more time. "I remember it like it was yesterday..." She muttered under her breath, hand going up to her neck. Fury looked, and stared. No one had told her Anko had one.

"He marked you too?"

"And tossed me aside, like he does everyone." Anko answered. "Fury, Orochimaru marks people that he wants to train, take under his wing, for one reason; to use them. They have a singular reason for being his student, and once that reason is gone, he has no problem with leaving you behind to die or worse... if Loor ever tries leaving to somewhere you don't know, make sure she's aware of that fact. If she still tries to go... use force."

Using force on Loor was easier said than done.

Anko slowly departed from the room, and Fury could hear her walking down the hall as the door slowly shut, clicking closed to leave herself and Loor alone.

"Loor... how could you do this...?" Fury asked the sleeping girl slowly. Not that she expected an answer. No, she dreaded answers, or even minor reactions. That's why she was asking questions _now._ Before Loor could react, simply so Fury didn't have all this confusion stuffed up into her chest. "I know you didn't even go willingly... but still... you, get kidnapped? How did you manage that one? C'mon Loor, I know you better... you'd never let anything like that something. You're better, stronger, than that, aren't you?"

No answer, of course.

"And then... this whole thing with Orochimaru coming back. He could have killed you, and you know it." Fury shook her head slightly. "But I think this might be worse... just a little."

Silence came for a few moments, and Fury glanced with red eyes to the pink horizon outside the window, heralding the beginning of the second day within the Forest of Death. She had to wonder, where was Orochimaru now? Where was his partner? Would he be coming after her? Yawning, Fury wished she could go to bed, but her mind was buzzing with thousands of questions, every gear that her brain had spinning full force.

Then; Loor's hand twitched.

Just a twitch at first, but Fury yelped, causing Kakashi to come into the room. Loor's head had rolled to one side, the wet rag slipping off of her.

The strange toxic chakra that her body seemed to give up like smoke was slowly becoming that of a thick burning aura that both Kakashi and Fury could feel. Kakashi grabbed Fury and pulled her away from the bed, to let go of Loor, whose head began to roll in the other direction. Loor's lips parted to give a groan of pain, eyes dashing under her lids.

And then... the mark on Loor's neck began to glow like fire, red and orange and yellow, other marks spawning off of it, random flits of flame, taking curves of smooth shapes and moving across Loor's skin like oil does water. It went across her face, down her left arm and hand, across her chest...

Loor's eyes sprang open, and she began to look about. She didn't seem to be aware of the strange marks on her skin, writhing like flame tongues before settling, and then, darkening. The black waves and curves covered her upper left body, wrapping and curling around her every feature.

"Loor...?" Fury squeaked.

The girl's eyes snapped over, and Fury flinched. Loor's eyes had gone electrical in quality, blazing with energy and some sort of suppressed rage.

Kakashi pushed Fury behind him. "You'd better get a hold of yourself, Loor."

The girl on the hospital bed began to rise to her feet, standing first on the bed and then jumping off of it, a smirk picking up on her face. "Says who?" Her voice inquired after a few moments. "You, Kakashi? Did you save me again? I warned you about that, didn't I? What did I say...?" She seemed to think, approaching. Kakashi took an apprehensive stance, backing Fury toward the door. "The next time you think saving me is a good idea," A grin picked up. "Keep walking!"

Suddenly, Loor was right in front of him, and dished a kick that would have thrown any genin at least twenty feet. Kakashi was pushed back, indeed, but grabbed the walls to his either side as Fury opened the door behind her and left, leaving him alone with this girl who wasn't done yet. The door shut, and Loor flitted around Kakashi all too quickly, without her leg weights and now... with this strange energy. She could feel it, almost taste it, and it was sweet.

It was power.

Kakashi suffered a tough hit to the back, throwing him forward to the bed that Loor had just come off of, but wasn't going to let this go on for long. Like any emotional rage, Loor wasn't thinking, just striking. He just had to hold her still long enough for her brain to catch up. With that in mind, he was quick to get up. Still, she was just about upon him when he moved, dashing out of the way for her fist to slam down into the bed.

The mattress creaked in protest, the top bouncing up before the force broke several of the springs in the box spring, the sound of the wood under that cracking and shattering, parts of it scattered on the floor.

Think about what would have happened if that connected.

Loor seemed quite pissed about missing, tipping back and turning to find Kakashi about to strike her, blocking without thinking, her forearm taking his fist, and her leg coming up to kick him in the side.

He grabbed her forearm, lifting her up and twisting her around to face away from him, which not only got her kick to miss, but also allowed him to take a grip around her shoulders and then press her down into the damaged bed, holding her still between himself and the mattress.

She began to wiggle frantically, spitting and roaring like some sort of animal, a feral cat or a starving wolf, requiring freedom as a human would require air.

"Calm down..." Kakashi hissed.

Very slowly... Loor did. Huffing, her head dropped to the bed as the marks turned molten again, glowing, and receding back into the curse mark, flowing away to leave her flesh unmarked aside from the original three teardrops.

Finally, she was released, and she rolled off of the bed to lie on the floor, gasping.

"By the way," Kakashi gave in his usual dry tone, leaning down to look Loor right in her flustered face. "I didn't save you."

* * *

"You don't remember??"

"I blacked out." Loor sighed, shaking her head. It was several hours later, full sunlight of the daytime making that obvious. Loor had fallen asleep after her strange attack, and now that she was awake, Fury had to ask how she had gotten in, thus triggering the current dialog. "I remember... waking up after spending the night out at my training grounds, and walking through Konoha a little bit..." She paused. "I ran into Kabuto... I was talking with him, and I think something hit my head... maybe someone..."

There was a long pause. "Why didn't Kabuto tell us?" Fury asked slowly, looking down at her knees. "If he saw you get taken... he should have told someone..."

Loor snorted, at once suspicious. "Oh, _sure, _or he could have been the one who took me. Ever think of that one?"

"Why would he?" Fury asked, her voice innocent.

"He could be the Oro-bastard's partner!!" Loor glared, clenching her fists. She couldn't help the slight mood swing. She didn't like the fact that she had been saved, _again, _or the fact that Kakashi wouldn't tell her who so she knew who she had to go and beat the snot out of, or the equally annoying fact that Fury was under orders to restrain Loor if she even _thought_ about getting off of the new bed that had been wheeled in. "I've had a bad feeling about him from the start, Fury. I can read him like an open book, that bloody mask more obvious than anything, which means one thing and one thing only; he's full of shit!"

Fury had flinched at Loor's outburst, and sighed, shaking her head. "Or..." Fury began. "You could just be paranoid."

That took Loor back a few notches, and made the girl try to calm down, leaning back into the pillow. Her hand, slowly, wormed up to the cause of the current mess; the mark on her neck. It was only a light ache now, but Loor remembered the pain all too well from when she got it. "Maybe so..." Loor agreed after a few moments, changing the subject. "So... there's no way to get rid of this thing, huh?"

Fury shook her head. "I think only Orochimaru knows how... since it's his creation. All Kakashi can do is seal it so that it'll only activate if you want it to... or so he says."

"I swear... I'll kill him..." Loor gave, referring to Orochimaru of course. "First, he has to kill my family... and then he puts this leash on me... I'll get him when he least expects it... cut off his fucking head..."

"Loor..." Fury reached out a hand to comfort her friend, who took it. The girls sat there for a while, in silence. Neither of them knew what to say, but Fury could feel something that was different about Loor... and it had to do with that mark on her neck. It was something of Loor's energy, it was angrier, more ravenous, than it had been before. Loor was a naturally angry person, but it would seem Orochimaru had to go and make it worse.

"You have to protect yourself now..." Loor muttered.

"Eh?"

"If he came after me..." Loor paused. "There's a chance that he'll come after you too."

"...right... I'll watch my back."

* * *

"A different _world? _Kakashi, have you lost your mind?"

"No, Anko, I haven't. I saw it with my own eyes, and I could show you the jutsu to get there. My point is that I think I know why Orochimaru did this."

"... you do?"

"Think about it Anko, that world is completely without shinobi of any type, and people who actually fight are probably few and far between. The only reason Orochimaru would mark someone is if they had something special about them, like--"

"Like being from a completely defenseless location... or using them to find those defenses. You're not thinking...?"

"I think he's going to use Loor to attack her own world, to have someone on the inside."

"It makes sense... but what are we going to do, then? Keep her here?"

"First, we're not going to tell her."

"What?!"

"Think about it, Anko. If she knew that she was going to get used as a weapon, she'd go after Orochimaru all the sooner in rage and get herself killed. I'd like to avoid sacrificing lives when I can."

"But if we leave her alive..."

"I know, and if we stop her training she'll suspect something."

"If you stop her training, she'll leave. Orochimaru will be calling her soon enough, and if she's desperate, I can guarantee that she'll leave."

"Our only option is the seal her and continue training... maybe if she gets strong, without the curse's power, she'll become her world's protector rather than it's destroyer."


	34. Hospital Stay

Two of five, moving on.

**I own nothing.**

OWTF!!

**Markings- Chapter Thirty Four  
****Hospital Stay**

Of the many things that Loor didn't notice during her small spat with Kakashi, her bad condition was one of them. Her fever kept coming and going, along with dizzy spells and various other things. Fury would stick by almost all day as Loor faded in and out of conscious thought, and she didn't stay above long because it hurt so much. Loor didn't notice when the curse seal activated and she attacked Kakashi, but two of her ribs were broken from the tough hits Orochimaru had given her, and her shoulder was badly bruised from being the first thing to collide with the branch she'd crashed into after getting thrown. Thankfully, none of her organs had been damaged, just a lot of bruising and a few extra scratches aside from where some of the skin had been ripped off, where her shoulder had hit.

Every time she woke up and became more aware of these facts, the more she fought to stay over, checking the thick bandages around her middle that now restricted movement, allowing her ribs to heal, and feeling around for the other patches of cotton over the various cuts, feeling all the sore spots.

Needless to say, the day sucked ass. Fury kept urging her to sleep, but Loor avoided it as much as she could. Loor's mind was ridden with nightmares, and experiencing them was something she'd avoid.

In all honesty, the night was much worse. Fury had to go home, which was back to Kiba's place even though the dog boy wasn't there, and Loor was left alone for several hours of the night. She had to lay there, waking up every half hour, to be alone, to ask questions to the darkness that was usually her solace, now her aggressor. She wanted to get up, but it was only the curse that had allowed her to attack before. Now, if she attempted to get up, her body would prevent her with searing pain shooting up her left side from her ribs.

It didn't keep her from trying every time she woke up. Of course.

It was somewhere past midnight that someone came into her room. It was just when she was sinking again, so she hardly saw the shadow, but the shadow was more than enough to shoot adrenaline through her and push her back towards being awake. She stared, trying to force herself up but failing, growling to try and make herself at least _sound_ dangerous whilst she could do nothing.

"Shh..." A voice came through the dark, and she recognized it as Kakashi.

"What are you doing in here...?" She muttered, yawning.

"Returning something." He answered, putting something on the end of her bed. "I thought you'd want them back."

Loor felt the mattress dip like he had set a person there, but she knew better, a smile twitching on her face. Something that small, with that much weight, had to be her leg weights. "...thanks..." She muttered. "And... uh... sorry."

"Sorry?" Kakashi seemed surprised. "What for?"

"Trying to beat you up... I was just..."

"Drunk on power." Kakashi answered. "That mark can do that to you. As soon as you can get up on your own, I'll seal it."

"Getting up on my own, huh?" She was sinking again, feeling her eyes drifting closed. "...you might be doing it tomorrow then, I don't plan on being here long."

"Why not?" Kakashi asked. "You should let yourself rest."

"No time... Orochimaru has made an advance... I have to step up my training so I can answer back the next time he takes a shot... It could be any time, anywhere... I have to be ready."

"If you get out of that bed before you should, which is in a week, I will have someone strap you down." Kakashi threatened.

"Don't matter." She grunted. "...call me Houdini... I always get away..."

Kakashi snickered, watching her fall back into an uneasy sleep.

"Almost as bad as Naruto... almost."

* * *

After that, Loor had actually managed to get some real rest. She stayed out of it till much later the next day. The only reason she woke up was because there were all kinds of commotion outside of her room. The door, slightly open from Fury being there, was letting sound in. When Loor's eyes opened, she could see Fury at her side, listening to the clamor outside.

"Wow, I didn't know two Hyugas would go at it so long..." The voice of a nurse who was standing idle as others rushed by on their business. "On the other hand, who knew that Neji would do something like _that_ to his cousin?"

"Donno," Another nurse answered. "Think she'll be okay?"

"Not sure, her lungs and heart have taken one hell of a beating. She's been coughing up blood..."

"Hinata can be a tough little nut, I think she'll make it."

"Hinata...?" Loor asked slowly, looking at the crack in the door that sound was coming through. "What... what's going on...?"

Fury looked back, having not been aware that she was awake. "Oh, Loor..." She sighed. "Today was the last day for the Forest of Death... and too many people actually completed the test, so they had semi-finals to bring down the ranks."

"Oh... Semi-finals?"

"One on one fights picked at random." Fury nodded. "Neji and Hinata fought against each other... Kiba's here too, along with Sasuke, Ino, and Sakura."

"No Naruto?" Loor giggled, though it was painful. "What fight is going on now...?"

"Lee..." Fury trailed for a moment. "Verses Gaara."

Loor felt a slight fear run through her. Of all the people paired up in fights, _those_ two had to go at it?? One of them was likely to die!! Fury could see Loor's shock, but had nothing to put the girl's mind at ease.

"Loor... you weren't the only person out there that ran into Orochimaru." Fury's face was taught and grim.

"Eh...?" Loor tried a smile. "You mean I'm not the only one with rotten luck?"

"Sasuke won his fight..." Fury trailed. "But... he's got a curse mark too... it looks just like yours."

A twitch went through Loor. "Oh God..." She then tried to sit up, failing of course. "Wait, why are all the others here? They're not all in real bad condition, are they?"

"No." Fury shook her head. "Besides Hinata... Neji really had it out with her... he nearly killed her, but Kiba fought Naruto and lost, so he's here for rest. Ino and Sakura fought, and both feinted, so they're resting too. They'll be out to day, it looks like."

"Who's Ino?" Loor asked after a few moments.

"Another one of the rookie nine... you could kinda say she's Sakura's rival."

"Oh, gotcha." Loor nodded, closing her eyes as Fury got up, watching another stretcher getting carried through.

"TenTen..." Fury muttered, sighing, starting to waffle back and forth. "You think Lee'll be okay?"

"He can hold his own..." Loor winced, taking a deep breath. "But Gaara won't think twice about killing him."

If only Loor knew exactly what was happening that very moment; that Lee had to take off his leg weights for the fight, becoming fast enough to evade the human eye and, frankly, Gaara's sand, and not even that being enough. If only Loor knew that Lee had come so close to death several times, so close to being crushed, and was nearly killing himself with exerting his own abilities.

If only she knew... on the other hand, maybe it was better off that way; if she knew, she'd probably force herself off of that bed and try and help, and probably get herself killed.

There was a long silence between Fury and Loor, and finally Loor hefted a long sigh. "How did Kabuto fair?"

"He withdrew." Fury answered. "Didn't think he'd make it, so he left... he said he'd come visit soon, after taking a rest at home, but I haven't seen him yet."

"How do you know about what's going on?"

"Asking the losers as they come, if they're awake." Fury answered.

It was silent again, and then there was shouting from down the hall.

"Outta the way, this kid's critical!"

"Move!"

Fury's eyes widened, and Loor stared. The door was a little more open, so Loor could see a bit outside her room.

All she saw was a blip of green on a stretcher rushing by, but that's all she needed to see.

"Lee..." Loor whimpered.

"Oh... my... god..." Fury muttered, turning her head to try and abolish what she had just seen. "I... I think I'm gonna... be sick.."

"What happened??" Loor demanded.

"His... his left arm and leg..." Fury did look rather ill. "...crushed..."

"Crushed?" Loor questioned, eyes wide. "Are you shitting me?"

Fury shook her head no, falling silent.

Loor could do nothing, but the first thing she wanted to do once she was off that bed was go and see how Lee was doing.

* * *

The first two days of Loor being stuck in that hospital crawled by. Between the nightmares, trying to sleep, and getting 'get well' visits from random people, it was a random mix up of things she just wished would go by. The first person to visit, aside from Fury who was there every day, was Sakura with a flower as a 'hopeful gift.' Loor could never remember what kind of flower it was, though she thought it was a daffodil. Following Sakura was Naruto with coupons for the ramen shop and a victory story of how he beat Kiba's ass. Even Kakashi stopped by, dropping off one of his books for her. 'When you figure out reading the language' was his note on that one. Fury had scanned through the orange book for her, and quickly put it down in disgust, not willing to say anything about it. Still in the first day, Kiba also visited Loor as he started walking, happy to prod the girl whilst she couldn't punch him. Kurenai stopped by too, just to give her well wishes.

The second day was worse.

More visitors, of course, including the girl named Ino. Loor didn't like this girl one bit. Everything about her screamed 'arrogant prep,' but Loor hadn't the energy nor range of movement to through her out the window, so she just nodded as the girl went on and on about getting lots of rest and eating right. Following Ino was Sakura again, and Loor noticed that Sakura's hair was substantially shorter. What had been to her mid back was up to her jaw, and shaggy. Loor thought to ask, but didn't. Eventually, everyone visited Loor from the rookie nine aside from Sasuke and Hinata, who were still in their hospital beds. TenTen came by when she felt well enough to walk, though Neji never did, the pompous jerk. Hell, even Kankuro and Temari stopped by, though Temari mentioned that Gaara had all but disappeared since the semi-finals.

It was that visit that Loor woke up a bit more.

"I heard about what he did to Lee..." Loor gave slowly, rolling her head to one side as far as she could without dislodging the cold rag that had been applied as her fever returned.

Kankuro, on one side with Fury, snickered. "I was afraid for a sec that he was gonna lose." He leaned back in the chair he had pulled up. "On the other hand, he's never lost to anyone."

Loor wasn't looking at Kankuro, closing her eyes for a moment before looking back at Temari. "I want to say I'm mad at him for doing that to Lee... but it could have been worse, and they had to fight, right?"

"Not like Gaara had any problem with it." Temari answered. "He wanted to kill Lee, you could tell."

Loor winced. "Nice to know..."

"Man, and I thought he was done with that killing stuff." Kankuro snickered. "Y'know, with how he acted after finding you."

"Finding me?" Loor questioned, rolling her head the other way to look at the only male in the room. "What are you jawing about?"

"When you where out there," Kankuro answered. "Gaara's the one who found you and brought you to the tower. I swear, the whole way there, once he was carrying you around, he didn't wanna kill anyone unless they threatened us first. You have no idea how weird that is."

"Are you kidding me...?" Loor chuckled dryly. "That little retard thought I hated him the night before the exams..." She slowly raised one hand out of her blankets, the one he had bandaged, and snickered. "On the other hand, I did my best to put his mind at ease about that..." Loor's voice was calm, but Fury could see the look on Loor's face at hearing, finally, who had saved her in the forest.

That look said that Loor was thinking along the lines of 'revenge.'

"I win...?" All three people in the room red off of the palm of Loor's hand on the bandages, all with the same questioning tone.

"Yeah... I ripped my hand open that night, and when I woke up, it was bandaged and written on." Loor yawned. "Fancy that..."

"Like that trick you pulled with the cork..." Kankuro snickered.

"Trick?" Fury asked, cocking her head to one side. "What did Loor do now?"

"I don't know either..." Temari eyed her brother. "What did she do?"

"I'm still here, you know." Loor grumbled. "Just because I can't move doesn't mean I'm not here."

"Fine," Kankuro grinned. "You wanna tell the story?"

"What's to tell?" Loor snickered. "That Gaara left his cork behind one night, I wrote 'I win' on it, and then turned into you to return it?"

"You what??"

Both Fury and Temari yelped this at the same time.

Loor grinned. She loved it when people reacted like that.

"You heard me..." She giggled, Kankuro laughing. "By the way, Kankuro, he wasn't fooled. Came and visited me the next night and busted me on it."

"How often were you guys meeting up, geez!" Kankuro snickered.

"Yeah, _Onee-san_," Fury prodded. "You keep insisting that you don't like him."

"I _don't._" Loor snorted. "I've told you before, he tracks me down, and won't leave when I tell him to."

Fury, and Kankuro, started laughing and signing together, making Loor begin to fume. _"Loor and Gaara sittin' in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"_

Temari glared at the both of them, along with Loor. "Don't make me take out my fan on you, Kankuro." Temari growled.

"You two are _**so**_lucky I can't get up." Loor snarled.

"We know." Kankuro grinned. "I think that's why we're doing it now, so you can't kill us."

Loor tried, once more, to try and get up. She managed five inches before she fell back, gasping in pain. "Fuck..."

After that, Loor steadily started to get better. Fury explained to her that the chunnin exams were not yet over, that the finals would take place in another month. The finals, again, were one on one battles that went until one combatant was no longer able to fight, set up in a tournament style system. They'd keep fighting till only one stood victorious. Fury had listed off the different battles, but there were only a few Loor cared about; Naruto vs. Neji, and Sasuke vs. Gaara.

And each of them had one month of training to do.

Every day, several times a day, Loor would try to get up. It took her three days to manage it, and four to make it out of her room. Since she did, under an incredible amount of pain at the same time, she scared the shit out of several nurses. Of course, she would be forced back to bed rather quickly. She demanded to visit both Lee and Sasuke, but Lee was still critical and Sasuke wasn't allowed to have visitors after going through chakra extortion. It had nearly killed him, since he attempted to fight after being in bad condition.

She understood not seeing Sasuke, but she refused to be kept out of Lee's room. After talking to several nurses, leaving her room again, and eventually threatening violence, they let her stand in the door way and look.

Lee wasn't awake, shifting occasionally in his sleep like he had nightmares, much like Loor. His left arm and leg were in casts, of course, with various pins and such still sticking out, probably keeping the shattered bones in place. Gaara had crushed those appendages, making Loor wonder how much the casts would do. It was hard for bones to knit back together when they were almost dust. Aside from that, he had various places where he had been bleeding, medical patches and bandages covering him.

Loor knew she was only supposed to come to the doorway, but she couldn't help taking another step forward.

Loor knew how strong Lee was... how fast he could move, and that was _with_ his weights. Now, staring at him broken on a hospital bed, she had to wonder how strong Gaara actually was.

And what would bring him to do this to another human... Loor returned to her room after that, her mind pondering if she really could help Gaara like she said she'd try to do.

She also pondered what would happen if she wasn't able, what he would do to her.

On the fifth day, Loor couldn't stand staying in bed anymore. She got up, and if a nurse got in her way, she punched them. No kidding, she actually beat them out of the way. Her room was on the third floor, so she couldn't just jump out the window to escape, but she was going outside if it killed her. And it nearly did, for that matter. Attacking was hardly in her range, and hurt like hell, and she ran into some actual doctors on the first floor who had some muscle to back it up, used to restraining shinobi patients like her. It was on the first floor, struggling with those guys, shouting various obscenities, that Kakashi walked in with his arms crossed across his chest.

Her struggles dropped as she noticed the slight smirk Kakashi had through his thin facemask.

"You're walking..." He noted. "I guess that means you're ready."

"Ready for what?" She snorted, trying to rip a fist away from one of the guys holding her.

"To be sealed."


	35. Midnight Meeting

Three of five.

**No ownage.**

OWTF!!

**Markings- Chapter Thirty Five**  
**Midnight Meeting**

The sealing process was an interesting one, to say the least. It took place beneath some building that Loor didn't know, and she didn't care to memorize directions. It was more of an 'off the beaten path so no one will disturb us' type of place, so it was not meant to be found and not important. The main thing Loor focused on, walking there, was how badly it hurt to breathe. Still, she refused to complain. She fought to get out of that bed, and she was going to enjoy her spoils whilst she could; those spoils being a sunny day and getting lots of funny looks for walking around in the blue pants and robe that were supplied to patents at the hospital.

When they arrived, Kakashi had her take the robe off. At once, Loor was made aware of her bad condition; her tightly wrapped ribs, and the reminder that having those wraps forced her to wear chest wraps instead of her usual sports bra. Still, trying to ignore such facts, she knelt where Kakashi told her to and left her hands to brace her upper body on the floor. Out of the many pockets that Kakashi had, he drew out a scroll that was probably instructions, a brush, and ink.

For the next half hour, Loor sat there as he painted several kanji symbols on both of her arms and her back, such symbols that followed down onto the ground she was kneeling on, and a circle around her. She didn't understand any of it at all, and it all led up to the mark on her neck.

Still, he appeared to know what he was doing, so she tried to snuff out her own curiosity.

"Do... I have to do anything?" She asked, trying not to shudder as the wraps around her ribs were temporarily removed so that Kakashi could paint the symbols on her back. She could feel the broken bones, and shallowed her breathing to keep away from disturbing them.

"Besides holding still, no." He replied. "Sasuke was sealed just a few days ago, since he was still awake when we found out that he had been marked, and by his reactions I'd say it hurts a little bit. It's a simple three pronged seal, but that means it's a little on the weak side... you'll have to resist the effects of the mark yourself if you want to prevent anything bad from happening."

"... what if I break it?"

"Then you'll be vulnerable to all of the effects; the power boost and Orochimaru's control." He snickered. "I would assume it's a give and take situation, but I wouldn't break it lightly. I won't do this for you too often."

There was silence after that, and Loor tried to relax as he finished with all the symbols. There had to be hundreds of marks that she didn't understand, but she tried not to let them bother her. He got up, behind her, and Loor knew he was doing hand signs, gathering chakra, forming it for the one reason he needed it.

_"Three prong curse seal!" _

She felt his hands near the mark, and energy against it, invisible but racing to follow the kanji that probably depicted everything that the seal suppressed. It was a light tingle at first, but the pain came as the marks began to _move_ up her arms and back, being drawn up off of the floor, across her body by some unknown string.

She couldn't help but utter a small cry of pain, digging her fingernails into the ground.

She couldn't see it, the marks sinking into the symbol on her neck, making a broken circle around it in three sections, the three prongs, of the seal. She didn't care to see it either, just digging into the ground until the pain was gone. It took no more than thirty seconds.

Once it was done, she could hardly hold herself up. Something of the jutsu had sapped some of her energy. Kakashi didn't ask her to move at first, leaning down and wrapping her ribs up again tightly, with medical precision. Once she was nice and proper, he helped her to stand.

She hardly held her ground, and passed out.

* * *

It was the middle of the night before Loor came around again. She opened her eyes to see moonlight streaming into her room, and groaned lightly when she saw it. It made big shadows in her room, and her mind at once insisted that someone had to be hiding in those shadows...

Of course, that's what she had thought for the rest of the nights that she had been in the hospital; that someone had been watching her, following her, shadowing her every move... and sitting in those shadows. Of course, like all the other times, she shrugged it off till she noticed something.

The window was open... and she didn't open it. She doubted a nurse would leave a window open all night long unless a patient asked for it.

Still, the air was nice. Loor, groaning, rolled to the side and pushed her blankets off of her, managing off of her bed with minimal pain and hobbling over to the window. At once, she could feel the warm late summer breeze in her face, and smell the forest on the wind. It made her relax a little bit...

Till she realized that she had completely disregarded the fact that the window was open. Someone...

She turned around quickly. "Hello?" She whispered, blue eyes wild in glancing about. She kept looking, becoming frantic, and then bringing her hands together into the sign for ram. Like she would for substitution, she started reaching around with her chakra. She wasn't looking for something to switch with though, she was just trying to figure out if anyone else was in the room.

She closed her eyes, feeling. There was... her bed... her shoes... her leg weights on the floor... floor... _a foot..._

She lifted her head, opening her eyes and letting her energy drop, staring at the shadowed corner of the room, daring a step forward. "... I know you're there... just show yourself..."

Silence.

"I said, show yourself." Loor growled, taking another step, reaching out. Whatever time it was, her mind didn't seem to notice how stupid she was being, reaching out towards an unknown person, but she still did it. Hand outstretched, she stood in the moonlight near the corner, reaching into the shadows, watching her arm disappear...

To have someone grab her hand.

Loor tried not to jump, as the grip was not hostile. No, it was gentle if anything. It pulled her arm a little more, her hand, to rest upon the person's head.

She could feel it... the scar under her palm.

"...Gaara?"

He didn't answer, slowly coming into the moonlight, still holding her hand. She almost smiled at him, and then glared.

"Why are you here?" She spat, slightly peeved.

"To see you." He answered, first words of the night.

"Yeah, you had five days to do that when everyone else did, during visiting hours. Do you always have to come and see me under the cover of darkness?" She snorted, growling. "And it doesn't help that I'm a little mad at you anyway."

She took her hand away from him, almost like a punishment of sorts.

His eyes narrowed slightly, though his body did not shift aside from his own hand dropping to his side. "Why?"

"What you did to Lee." She snarled. "I mean, I heard about the homicidal thing, but what you've done to him is worse than death. He's yet to wake up."

His eyes widened a little. Loor wouldn't read into it, but she thought she saw a shadow of shock. He didn't answer her question of why, since he saw nothing wrong with what he had done, and asked a question of his own. "You know him?"

"He's one of my best friends right now, thank you very much!" She didn't shout, but it was as close as she could get without being loud. "If I was still open to such concepts he could be my boyfriend, but that's not the case. I still can't help the fact that I care for him quite a bit, and you go and nearly kill him. No less, I heard you enjoyed the fight."

What Gaara did almost made her sick; he smirked, some of his teeth showing, a fang like canine in the smile. "If I had killed him, I would have felt quite alive... only the strongest ever make do for us."

"_Us?_" Loor snorted. "You're talking about you and Shukaku..." She turned from him, back to her bed. "You're dumber than you look."

She heard it a split second before she felt it, sand, around her chest, pressuring her damaged ribs. "Say that again..." He dared. "And the nurses will find a corpse."

Very slowly, she turned towards him, seeing the slight anger on his face and the sand leading from the gourd to her mid section. "Gaara," She addressed. "If you were ever going to crush me, you would have done it when we met."

He stared for a few moments at her, and then snorted, letting her go.

"Don't help with what you did to me..." She muttered, rubbing her neck. "God, what were you thinking...?"

"What did I do to you?"

"You rescued me." She glared at him. "Why the hell would you wanna help me anyway? I'm the one who gives you all the trouble with Shukaku, remember? He wants ta kill me, and you don't, and all that jazz."

There was a long pause as he watched her, crossing his arms as she lay back on her bed once more. He had come a bit closer, standing at the foot of her bed, staring. "The idea of you getting hurt was... uncomfortable."

"Uncomfortable?" She let one eyebrow go up. "Don't tell me you actually care."

"I'm telling you that I didn't want anyone to harm you."

"You just better be damn happy that I'm too injured to try and harm _you_." She put her head back into her pillow, not looking at him. "I hate it when people help me."

"Why?"

"Makes me feel weak." She said slowly, hefting a sigh. "And... well, no one likes to feel weak. If I have to be saved, then the person who saved me should have killed me. A fighter that has to be rescued is nothing but dead weight."

He didn't say anything, and she closed her eyes. Odd now that he was finally where she could yell at him, and most of her over boiling rage about getting saved was gone, along with how angry she'd been about what was done to Lee. She'd never admit it to herself, but in the back of her mind, she was happy to see him.

She pretended to be asleep, hoping he'd leave so she could figure out what happened with all of her emotions, but he didn't. In fact, as he assumed she'd fallen asleep, his hand crawled across the bed to lightly brush her cheek. She refused a reaction to him and herself, holding still, trying to keep the eased rise and fall of her chest. His hand kept brushing, eventually cupping her cheek.

"...what are you doing...?" She finally asked, drowsy.

"I don't know." He admitted.

She snorted, ignoring yet another fact; she enjoyed it. Her snort was that of a sound trying to drive him away, though he played deaf, leaving only for a second to return with a chair, actually putting the gourd to the side to sit on it.

Should I write that again? _Actually putting the ground to the side._ As in he wasn't wearing it, it was beside the chair at his feet.

Since when?

She felt his hand come back, and did her best not to smile, as though his touch was trying to comfort her, or this was his strange way of saying he was sorry for making her angry.

Loor had to come up with something to be pissed off about quick before she actually had to admit she liked it.

"...You're still planning on killing Lee... aren't you?" She finally asked.

His hand paused, frozen in the moonlight streaming over her bed. "It is torture to us to leave him alive after getting so close... I have to... I want to."

She could hear the blood lust in his voice, and hefted a long sigh.

"If you go after him, you'll have to get through me first. I care about Lee too much... the only way I'd let someone take him out is over my dead body."

The word 'dead' evoked a slight twitch through Gaara's fingers, as if he didn't even want to think about her lifeless body. "Keep out of the way and I'll make it painless."

Was that his way of trying to compromise?

She laughed at him, quietly. "Dude, I'm gonna get in the way, and you're gonna leave Lee alive."

"I will not hurt you."

"Then you won't kill him, because I'll post myself in his room if I have to." She opened one eye to see that he was about to speak again, but cut him off. "Oh no you don't, buddy boy. You wanted me to help you, and guess what? I'm helping. If you want people to stop thinking you're a monster, then you're going to have to stop listening to that thing inside your head."

He shook his head. "They would think me that way regardless..."

"Did Shukaku tell you that?"

"He would know, wouldn't he? He's known me since _before_ I was born."

"That would mean he knows how to work you too." Loor's other eye came open, and she forced herself to sit up in bed again. "Don't you get it? All that demon does is use you. If you ever thought for a second that he was trying to help you, that's what he wants you to think."

He stared, his face going blank for a minor moment before he suddenly became angry. "What would you know of it?" He hissed. "You've never had a demon in your head... never been treated like a monster..." She saw as his fingers began to look more like claws. He wanted to kill her again.

"I would know plenty of it, Gaara." She snorted at him. "Being left alone, treated like some thing's wrong with you, I've been there. I started fighting because of it. Where you've been killing people, I've simply been beating them up since the same age not because _I_ couldn't stand _them,_ _they _couldn't stand _me._ Oh, sure, I would have loved to have friends and pretend I'm happy all the time, but don't you think it's it better to just have one, maybe two, really good friends and forsake the rest of them? And actually be happy?"

"What are you saying...?" He asked, as her point had meandered several times.

"I'm saying I know what it's like to be ignored..." She sighed. "And no matter what, the world isn't going to accept you, as it will never accept me, or Fury. We're too weird for that... you have to find people of your own like, and stick with them... they become your family." She sighed. "As for the voice in your head... you have to face your own demon; literally."

Slowly, she reached out for him with her bandaged hand. He didn't react, having fallen into thought after what she said. It was funny, the bandages on her hand had long become unnecessary, but you could only read the message on them if they were still wrapped around her hand, so she hadn't removed them.

He almost jumped, coming back to the surface, as she lightly brushed his face, and neck, tracing his jaw and the forever-exhausted features around his eyes, as if she were sculpting his face rather than feeling the real thing. Her hand memorized what her eyes could not, coming around through his hair and lightly rubbing down his shoulder...

Her hand went down his arm, eventually taking his hand and separating out the fingers and leaving her palm upon his.

"I want to help you, Gaara..." She gave after a few moments. "But you have to help yourself first."

* * *

Fury and Naruto were Loor's wake-up call the next day. The two of them walked in bearing a bowl of ramen from Ichiraku's (the owner heard about her being in the hospital and decided to send it with Naruto as a gift) that Loor would take above hospital food any day. She slurped it more than she ate it, not even using the chop sticks, making Fury and Naruto laugh as she downed the whole thing in one go, and then gave a big belch people probably heard several rooms down.

"Did someone visit you last night?" Fury asked at once, perky as hell for the odd hour of the morning. It was so early... the air coming in from outside was cool with the morning dew.

Loor, setting her bowl aside, let nothing slip about the visit she got the night before. "No, why...?" She asked this whilst yawning.

"Someone moved my chair..." Fury noted. She usually shoved the chair against the wall, but it was right up against Loor's bed.

"You must have forgotten to put it away." Loor assured, leaning back and relaxing again. "So, any reason you two are here?"

Fury seemed a little sheepish. "Well... uh... yeah."

"Eh?"

Naruto was the one who let it slip. "We're supposed to keep you here, a request from the nurses. They even called it a C rank mission, believe it!"

Loor raised an eyebrow. "You're kidding me, right?"

Fury snickered. "Nope, _Onee-san,_ It's cause you were beating people up yesterday. I'm gonna be here in the mornings to keep an eye on you, and Naruto comes in the afternoon after he's done training with his new sensei..."

"New sensei?" Loor was getting confused and aggravated. "What did I miss?"

"Yeah..." Naruto seemed a little miffed. "Kakashi is training Sasuke, so--"

"Whoa, last I checked, Sasuke was still here!!"

"Last you checked..." Fury sighed. "He left, and Kakashi pretty much vanished with him after saying that they'd be training. No one has seen either of them since yesterday afternoon."

"Yeah!" Naruto sighed. "And the worst of it is that Kakashi tried to stick me with Ebisu!!"

"Ebisu? Kony's snooty personal trainer?" Loor snorted. "That's a cold day in hell if I ever heard one."

"Yeah, well it didn't get much better!" Naruto crossed his arms. "It took a while, but I got off the hook with Ebisu and found another guy. I thought he was strong, but it turns out he's just some perverted old hermit! Still, he's training me, so I guess I should be happy..."

"Hermit...?" Loor seemed intrigued. "What's his name?"

"Well... I got used to callin' him pervy sage, even though he calls himself the toad sage, but his name is Jariya."

Jariya...? Fury seemed to hit a bump in her brain hearing the name. "You sure...?" She asked after a few moments. "I mean, not that I'm arguing, but I've seen that name somewhere..."

Naruto shrugged. "Search me."

Fury pondered it for a moment more, and then snapped her fingers. "I got it! Loor, lemme see that book Kakashi gave you."

Loor, reaching to the other side of her bed to the nightstand, did as Fury requested. Fury looked the book on every side, till she found the author's name on the inside cover. She pointed it out to Naruto, who started laughing.

"What?" Loor didn't like being out of the loop. "What's going on?"

"It would seem that Naruto's new sensei is also the author of Kakashi-sensei's favorite book series." Fury giggled lightly, handing the book back. "Which really _does_ make him perverted... don't it?"

Loor blinked twice, and grinned. "Okay, I gotta meet this guy."

"Why???" Fury yelped.

"He's a fellow author." Loor gave innocently. "I'd love to have a literary talk with him."

Naruto snickered. "I'm pretty sure he wouldn't mind, as long as you didn't tell him your real age."

Fury smacked both Loor and Naruto. "You two... trouble makers!!"


	36. Wounds Of The Heart

Four of Five.

**No ownage.**

OWTF!!

**Markings- Chapter Thirty Six**  
**Wounds of the Heart**

At first, Loor wanted to believe that Naruto and Fury were joking. She already felt trapped enough without having someone watch her around the clock to make sure she didn't try for escape.

Well... they weren't joking. They had been all too serious, and one could say that Kakashi's word held true after Loor's third attempt of the day of trying to leave her room while Fury was in the bathroom. By the time she was brought back, there was someone there with a set of body restraints for her.

Talk about Loor's worst nightmare. These bounds only came off long enough for her to go to the bathroom and have an assisted sponge bath, Fury being said assistant.

"Come on, Loor. You're the one who always gives me lectures on needing to get my rest when I'm sick." Fury gave, lightly doing the parts of Loor's back that were showing since it hurt Loor's ribs too much for her to reach back there. "Don't be a hypocrite about that too."

"One," Loor snapped, already in a bad mood from everything _else_ she had to go through that day. "I'm not sick, I just have a stupid tedious little injury."

"Broken ribs are little?" Fury laughed lightly. Loor was so funny when she was pissed off.

"Okay, maybe not, but they take way too long to heal!" Loor sighed, her legs getting tired from standing so long, seeing as she had insisted on having her weights this morning. She wasn't going to get weak because she was stuck on a hospital bed. "And two, what do you mean 'don't be a hypocrite about that _too'_ ?"

Fury leaned over Loor's shoulder. "Ya sure you want me to say it?"

"Yes, damn it."

"You had a visitor last night, _didn't you?_" Fury's tone teased, the girl giggling and quickly pulling back before Loor could attempt to punch her, moving out of her limited movement range. "Oh sure, you yell at me for getting attached to Kiba, but I bet you're gonna be just as sad to leave your little _Ga-Ga-Kun_ behind, eh?"

Loor raised an eyebrow at the nickname. "Ga-Ga-Kun? Y'know Fury, I'm pretty sure he'd kill you if he heard you say that."

"Hey, I didn't come up with it." Fury grinned. "It was Temari's nickname for him when he was little. She practically raised them, Gaara and Kankuro."

"I know." Loor sighed, lowering her head. "Their dad doesn't care, and their mom died giving birth to Gaara..."

"Oh... Temari just told me that their mom wasn't around. Who told you she was dead?"

"Gaara." Loor shook her head slightly, not inviting further conversation. On the other hand, Fury was never one to wait for an invitation while dealing with Loor.

"So... what happened last night?"

"Not much." Loor answered.

"Really?" Fury prodded, not believing it for a second.

"Really." Loor replied.

"Why don't you wanna talk about it?"

"Why do you _want_ to talk about it?!" Loor snapped, growling and turning her head again. "Not like it's any of your business when it comes to my dealing with the homicidal red head, but you seem all to interested in whatever interaction I have with him!"

Fury flinched when Loor raised her voice. There was a long pause, and then... "...sorry."

Loor hated that tone, the tone Fury used every time Loor lost her temper. It was the tone of 'thanks for yet another blow to my self-esteem, bitch.'

"Don't apologize..." Loor's tone had become softer. "It's just... I've been getting all over the place, and I hate it. Usually, I can handle myself. My brain is nice, logical, and neat because I can keep my emotions five feet away from me at all times... but the second someone like that crosses my path, the second I wanna help... they all come rushing back and it's like a tornado went through." She hefted a long breath. "I'm so confused... and now I'm trapped... and worried about Lee..."

"Lee? Why are you worried about him? He's getting better, last I heard. He might actually wake up in the next few days."

Loor snorted, shaking her head. "I need to go to his room after we're done here."

"Why?"

"Because Gaara's going to kill him."

Fury nearly jumped. "Come again?" She questioned, eyes wide.

"You heard me." Loor's tone was rather flat, and calm. "And I have to keep my promise."

"What promise???"

"If Gaara comes to kill Lee, I assured him it would be over my dead body."

Fury was starting to understand where her sister was going with this. "Whoa, you can't fight him like this!!"

"Perhaps not on my own, but you're plenty strong." Loor looked forwards. "Right?"

Fury shook her head. "Y'know... you're crazy..."

"If you don't let me go, I will force my way past you to his room." Loor assured. "I'm not going to let Lee go like that, not knowing what Gaara plans to do."

"Loor..."

"Fury," Loor gave herself voice with a great deal of authority. "I have no choice."

The argument ended, and Loor shrugged her robe back on with a bit of help from Fury. After that, both girls got up and left the bathroom. At once, Loor turned towards her own door to leave her room.

Fury stood for a few moments, moments that Loor didn't wait for, walking out into the hall without a word.

"Damn it!" Fury cursed under her breath, following Loor. "Damn, dang, darn!! Sometimes, I wonder just how sane you are!"

Loor, walking ahead, snickered. "Sane?" She questioned the air. "What is this 'sane' she speaks of?" Then, replying to herself in a slightly different voice. "I donno, sounds like a bad thing."

Lee's room was half way across the building, and it was currently lunch break, meaning that no nurses were about besides the ones needed for an emergency response in case one of the patients went critical, and they were all a stations that would alert them to such a happening while they munched on whatever they brought to work that day. Loor and Fury went through the halls with no trouble at all, not meeting a single person. Loor, despite the minor discomfort, refrained from limping to walk with a strong stride. Opening Lee's door, all was generally well. The major casts on Lee's arm and leg were gone, which shocked Loor.

"Don't they keep casts for longer than that?" Loor asked, glancing at Fury.

"Medical jutsu." Fury answered. "The bones were beyond a natural ability to repair. The casts and pins just hold him still while the jutsu does the work. He'll be limping on his own in a few more days... if he wakes up."

Loor shook her head. "A jutsu for everything... I'm glad I don't listen to late night radio around here, or any radio for that matter."

"Why?" Fury questioned as Loor shut the door behind them, pulling up a chair for Fury and sitting herself on Lee's bed, looking at the boy who was still sleeping. His hair was out of order for once in his life, underbrushed and showing with a little oil. It stuck out since Lee had a way of making sure he was always in perfect shape and hygiene.

"Why?" Loor snorted. "I imagine that they have sex ads like they do back home. I've heard about every herb on the market just listening to the radio around _Loveline_ hours," Loveline was a show that Loor listened to, "I don't need to hear about jutsu for your junk, no matter how catchy it sounds."

Fury nodded slightly, taking the chair and looking at Lee. He _did_ look a lot better than he had when he came in. There was silence again, and Loor lay back on the foot of the bed, letting out a yawn. She got tired far too easy since she had been hurt, but that was expected as her body went through the healing process.

The silence was broken by a click from the door. At once, Loor was bolt upright, and then on her feet, looking at the door as it was eased open.

Her muscles tensed as Gaara stepped through. At first, he didn't seem to know why she was there, looking first at Loor, then Fury, then his target; Lee.

"I told you to stay out of the way." Gaara gave, his monotone voice cutting through the quiet.

"Since when do I listen?" Loor questioned, growling and taking a step forward. "I told you that I'm not going to let you kill him."

Fury stared first at Gaara, then Loor, and then Gaara again. She could sense how dangerous this kid was, and wanted to back her chair into the corner, but didn't, getting up. Gaara glanced at Fury as she stood, and growled at her. "And who are you?"

"Loor's little sister!" Fury had meant to growl, but it came out as a squeak.

"Don't interfere." He narrowed his dark eyes. "Or I'll kill you."

Loor twitched, her rage taking over for a second. No one, and I repeat, _no one, _said that to Fury. Rearing back, Loor went to strike Gaara with her right fist, seeing as rearing back on the left side would move the muscles against her ribs and put her into a realm of pain she didn't want to go back to. He didn't move to dodge it, and the hit looked like it would strike true until...

The cork was thrust out of the gourd, sand from it leaping up in her fist's way, blocking her, cutting her knuckles, and enveloping her hand to hold her still. Spitting and yelling, Loor pulled and pushed, moving again to thrust her knee into him, but another spot of sand froze her again, leaving her off balance and hardly standing, not to mention sweating from even the minor activity.

Gaara's eyes, even colder now, moved to lock with Loor's. "So... you are like the rest. I should crush you where you stand."

"No!" Fury dashed forward. She, unlike Loor, didn't attack him, latching onto her big sister to try and yank her away from the sand that held her so firm. "Let my sister go!!"

"Why should I?" Gaara's eyes went to Fury. "You're frightened for her... frightened that I'll kill her... I should kill all three of you... just to prove _him_ wrong... Just to prove I'm alive."

"Gaara!" Loor's voice commanded. "Look at me."

Slowly, his blue eyes went back to her.

"I. Don't. Hate. You." She said slowly, as if to make sure it made it all the way to his brain. "But I have to protect my friends."

"And I have to kill him." He answered, eyes dashing to Lee once more. Still, the sand began to weaken, and eventually loosed her. She nearly fell, but Fury held her up and eased. After a second, Loor pulled away, getting up in Gaara's face. He didn't seem to understand why she had gotten so close, mere inches from him as she looked him directly in the eyes. It was almost hypnotic, her gaze...

"If you kill him, you'll hurt me."

He stared, backing up a step, as if struck.

"He's my friend, and connected to my heart, and Fury is even more so. If you kill my friends, you're slowly killing me. I'm already half dead; my family's gone. They're the only family I have left, and if you take them away, _I will hate you." _

He opened his mouth to protest, but didn't know what to say. She had drawn up the step he had taken back, her hands landing upon his, holding them, and herding him back towards the door. Fury, seeing what Loor was doing, quickly slipped past them to open it, so that she could back him right out of the room.

"Gaara..." Loor addressed, to make sure he was still with her, since he had a bad habit of sinking into his mind every now and then.

"...what?" He had taken another step back, over the threshold.

"I don't want to hate you..." She tried for a smile. "I want to be your friend."

He took the last step needed to shut the door behind them, leaving Fury in Lee's room and both Loor and Gaara outside. Loor, once away form Fury's gaze, gave into a very primitive urge she had. It was a common one in a situation when you see someone struggling with something they feel they have to do that you know is wrong.

Gently, her hands slid away from holding his, following up along his arms before pulling him closer by the shoulders, hugging him around the neck. He didn't do anything, and she didn't expect him to.

"Thank you." She muttered. "You scared me... just a little."

It took Gaara a moment to notice that she was almost crying.

He didn't know why she had grabbed him, or why it felt even better than when she would pet him, but he tried to imitate the gesture best he could. It was a little awkward at first, lifting his arms to wrap them around her middle, gingerly, since he knew of her injuries.

She started giggling. "You've never hugged someone, have you?"

"I've never been hugged."

"Holy shit..."

The two ripped apart, looking down the hall to see that they had an audience. Naruto and another genin were walking down the hall towards Lee's room. The other genin was a boy the same age with black hair pulled into a high and short pony and a lazy slouch, dressed in a netted shirt with his headband somehow fastened to the shoulder of a short coat worn over it, wearing faded green pants and the same shoes as everyone else. Naruto was the one who had cursed, though the other boy didn't look nearly as shocked.

"What's the big deal?" The other boy asked. "People hug... it's normal."

Naruto turned to him. "Shikamaru, if you knew Loor, you'd be shocked."

Loor growled. "What are you jawing about, Naruto?!" She snarled. "I'm not allowed to hug people?"

"You can hug people," Naruto could see that Loor was irked, and grinned. "I just never expected to see you hugging a guy, much less the homicidal maniac on the block."

The door to Lee's room opened, Fury sticking her head out. "Wha'd I miss? Who did Loor hug???"

Shikamaru, the guy with the ponytail, sighed, lowering his head and rubbing the back of his neck. "Man... what a drag... I'm gonna go sit down somewhere..."

Loor giggled, but that was followed by a trip. She'd been up too long, and she was getting a dizzy spell to show for it. "Y'know... I think I'm gonna join you..." She started to walk towards her room, but never made it, nearly falling on her ass.

Fury tried to catch her, but a particular red head got there first.

* * *

"Kiba!!"

This was all the warning dog-boy got before he was glomped by Fury, nearly knocked off of his feet as she jumped at him. Laughing, he caught her, spinning with the force before letting her down. "Hey..." He snickered, ruffling her hair. "Someone's in a good mood."

Fury was glowing. "Loor's got a _boyfriend!_" She sounded more smug than anything.

Kiba stared for a few seconds. "You're kidding me, right?"

She shook her head no. "Uh-uh! She'll never admit to it, of course, but she hugged him today!"

He snickered, putting an arm over her shoulder and turning down the lane to walk towards Ichiraku's, seeing as she left Loor right before dinnertime. Akamaru, in the hood, was happy to see her, crawling out of Kiba's hood and across her shoulders, draping across her neck like a fox scarf that was still alive. "Dare I ask for a name?"

"That Gaara kid."

Kiba twitched, and Akamaru whined.

"That kid is _capable_ of hanging out with someone without killing them??" Kiba seemed rather shocked. "I saw what that little guy can do first hand, he's not someone you screw with!"

"When did you see that...?"

"During the chunnins... in the Forest of Death, my team already had our scrolls, but we thought about going after other teams to narrow down the competition... but the team we found was Gaara's. We sat in the bushes while Gaara took out three nin without even touching them."

"How...?" Fury asked slowly.

"It's... scary." Kiba answered. Akamaru whined even more, shaking slightly while licking Fury. Apparently, the dog remembered what had happened, and was not happy with said memory. "He only used two different techniques, one being 'Sand Coffin,' which encases whatever poor nin he's up against in sand, and the other is..." He shivered. "'Sand Burial'... where the Sand Coffin crushes the encased ninja with enough force to make it rain blood."

Fury felt as if she was going to get sick, petting Akamaru. "Wow... When Loor picks people she wants to help, she certainly knows how to choose 'em, don't she?"

"And you were happy for her." Kiba reminded, prodding her.

"Well... I still am... just a little. Loor has so much trouble allowing her emotions through when she likes a guy... and sometimes, when she's around others, she pretend to hate them just because she knows other people expect her to hate men."

"Geez..." Kiba shook his head. "Anyway, I've heard enough about her. I wanted to ask you something."

"Eh?" Fury raised an eyebrow.

"Well... it seems all we ever eat together is ramen, and I knew this good sushi place across the way... I mean, only if you wanna go--"

She giggled, blushing and nodding. "Sounds great."

He grinned. "Awesome. Just one thing though, the place closes a bit early... so if you could get Naruto to take a bit of your shift or something..."

She nodded. "I'll see what I can do..."

The rest of the night was rather simple. She and Kiba went to Ichiraku's to eat, and he headed home as she took a quick visit to the public showers. The second she had left his hearing range, she had a victory squeal and did a quick dance.

Her first real date!!


	37. Full Moon

Five of five. See you punks next week. –waves-

**No ownage.**

OWTF!!!!

**Markings- Chapter Thirty Seven**  
**Full Moon**

Gaara had returned Loor to her room, putting her on her bed with ease and pulling up a chair like he had the night before. Where he was sure the memory was separated out and slightly deteriorated by sleeping, the memory was clear and sharp for him.

He couldn't sleep... He knew what would happen if he did. On the other hand, tonight, it would make little difference.

He could feel Shukaku, deep inside, preparing for it. With the night would come the full moon, one thing that would spell death for anyone who crossed Gaara's path once moonrise came to be.

Of course, his mind was fraught with worry. Would Shukaku track Loor down and kill her, like he had nearly done Lee? The thought bothered him, and he knew he couldn't fight Shukaku off on a full moon. Perhaps stall him... but fighting him would be beyond Gaara's power. Far beyond.

Perhaps... Gaara shook his head, sighing and slouching in the chair, lightly kicking the gourd, as if it would do something. He felt strangely tired, or more so than he always was. Of course his human parts yearned for sleep, but the demon would keep him forever awake. Should Gaara sleep, it spelled disaster alone. Even if Shukaku didn't take over, the nightmares that would spawn off of it would drive Gaara into insanity.

He came out of his thoughts as she began to stir, letting off a pained groan before turning her head to him, opening one blue eye.

"I... passed out... didn't I?" She asked, stretching.

"Yes." He nodded slowly.

She gave a slow smile. "Y'know... this is the first time... since I tried to sketch your tattoo, that we've met in full sunlight... you visit me at night most of the time."

"Not tonight." He gave, quickly, as if to put her at ease.

"Why not?" She asked, her eyes blissfully ignorant.

"It's a full moon." He said simply.

"Yeah, so what? Full moons are really pretty..." She yawned. "Don't tell me, you have a demon _and _you're a werewolf?"

He shook his head, rueful. If only it were that simple. "Don't wait for me." Was all he said, getting up. "In fact... if you think I'm coming... run."

She chuckled. "You're... being silly. Did you just sit there, waiting for me to wake up?"

"Yes." He answered, making for the door after slinging the gourd on his back again.

She gave a giddy snicker, half asleep. "See ya, _Ga-Ga-Kun..._"

He froze in the doorway. He had not heard that nickname in years. He turned back to look at her, raising a non-brow. "Where did you hear that?"

"A friend of a friend." She grinned. "I rather like it."

He snorted, shaking his head. "_Kuro." _He snorted at her. "It means 'trouble.'"

"Then call it my middle name," She giggled, "Cause that's all I am."

* * *

As moonrise was mere moments away, Gaara had sunk once more into his own mind. It was his way of fighting, one could, though he knew he was defenseless. Once again, he stood, six years old, in front of the Shukaku. Shukaku didn't waste time with the large form, taking on the smaller one to sit in front of Gaara, a beastly grin in place.

-----------------------------------

_They say 'Freak'  
__When you're singled out.  
__The red,  
__Well it filters through. _

-----------------------------------

_**Come to give up early?**_ Shukaku purred, rather close, intent on his prey.

_No!_ Gaara's little voice came back, clutching the teddy for all he was worth, little hands once again stroking the long rips in the poor bear's foot. _You're not taking me this time._

_**Big words for such a little body.**_ Shukaku teased him, getting up and prowling around him. _**I can't tell if I'm proud or if I'm annoyed. You should give in and make this less hard on yourself...**_

_So you can track __her__ down? _Gaara turned, making a point of keeping Shukaku in front of him at all times.

Shukaku growled heavily at him, tensing and pouncing. Gaara couldn't move out of the way, getting knocked back and yelping at this violent action. Still, he clutched his bear with both arms, not bothering to break his fall, and protecting the bear, not himself, as the Shukaku stood over him on four legs, fearsome yellow teeth barred. _**Do you really think she'll be your **__**friend?!**__** After all that's been done to you, or have you forgotten? Need I remind you once more?!**_

Gaara shook his head violently. _I don't need to see it! I don't to know it again!_

Gaara's pleas were like candy to Shukaku, who hissed at the boy, rancid breath washing over him, hot like the desert wind. That heat took him back, all those years ago, standing there...

Holding the ball, watching the other children run from him. He felt it, the pain, the loneliness, stabbing into him and making him feel the only pain he had never known. It wasn't bleeding... but it hurt.

It was a wound of the heart, one that would never heal if Shukaku had his way in it.

Gaara remembered lifting a small hand out to those children, making the sand try and drag them back, try and make at least one of them play with him, so he didn't have to be alone. Just one...

_"Leave me alone you freak!!"_

And then he tried to kill that child. Just one, and he attempted it anyway, the sand more than ready...

Only for someone to get in the way and take the hit.

-----------------------------------

_So lay down!  
__The pain is real!  
__When his sight...  
__Goes red again!_

-----------------------------------

Gaara's uncle... Yashamaru, had taken the blow on his arms, only minorly cut where the child would have been destroyed. Of course, the child ran, already cut up from being dragged, leaving Gaara to watch his uncle across the flat area that was the play ground for so many...

The memory fell away, leaving Gaara gasping and crying in pain, still under the Shukaku, who glared, his eyes sharp golden pools of rage that had held true for at least a hundred years.

_This... this is different..._ Gaara assured himself. _She never ran..._

Shukaku laughed, an ugly sound. _**Oh, maybe not yet... but she will when she sees me. I'm your dark little secret, remember?**_ He lifted a paw, lowering it to Gaara's chest, lowering it to the bear, claws extended. _**You don't want her to see me, because you know she'll reject me, just like all the rest.**_

The boy shook his head violently, rolling over to protect the bear. _No!! I don't want you to kill her! She'd never run... Never..._

_**Keep telling yourself that.**_ Shukaku hissed. _**You're a little monster... and little monsters grow up to be big monsters, and she'll never accept that. Even now, she might, but as you grow so will the horror inside of you, and it will become too much for her to bare.**_

_Shut up..._

_**Come again?**_

Gaara rolled over, becoming angry. _SHUT UP!!!_ He screamed, kicking at Shukaku's stomach with his little feet, thrashing and moving to run, but Shukaku placed a paw on the boy's hair, which was more than enough to cause him pain again.

_**I have lost my patience with you!**_ Shukaku's image became sharper, the purple veins on his sandy skin becoming more vivid, and swelling, as if the extra power he got was like blood. _**With the moonrise comes the girl's demise!**_

-----------------------------------

_Seeing red again...  
__Seeing red again...  
__This change,  
__Keep more contained..._

_Slip away,  
__To clear your mind...  
__When asked,  
__We made it show  
__The truth  
__It gives into most._

_--------------------------------- _

Gaara struggled with everything he had, kicking, biting, trying to rip away from Shukaku's grip, but such a little body hardly held a candle to the beast. He cried, feeling tears that sank into his bear as he clutched the poor stuffed animal to his face. The beast's other paw had come up, claws fully extended.

They punched through the bear, and ripped it away from Gaara's little hands, tossing it aside.

When Gaara came back to the surface, there was nothing left to fight Shukaku. The beast quickly came to the surface, and killed the singular person that had been near Gaara, the first kill of this full moon. The person had been a ninja, but hardly satisfying. No, the raccoon wasn't after just _any_ blood.

Like any animal, he had to protect himself from being dethroned. Loor was now far too threatening, giving Gaara such silly ideas of resistance. And now... trying to heal his wounds? After all these years? No, Shukaku could not have that at all.

Why, he'd loose his puppet if that happened.

The beast lifted its nose, enjoying the night air and moonlight, searching for her smell... Gaara knew it by now, and even that small memory was more than enough for Shukaku to follow. If not that, then her chakra signature, even if it had been altered.

It took a few moments... but he found it.

In moments, he began to bound across the rooftops. Not to the hospital, though.

The forest.

-----------------------------------

_So lay down!  
__The pain is real!  
__When his sight...  
__Goes red again!_

-----------------------------------

* * *

Loor had woken in the early evening, after the sunset, before the moon rose. At first, she thought she had simply woken up because she had slept all day. This, though, was hardly the case.

She was not alone. Two people were in her room.

Shooting up, the girl glanced at the two sand nin standing in the room. "Temari... Kankuro, what are you two doing here?" She asked, groggy, shaking her head as if it were a passing dream, or nightmare.

"Helping you." Temari snapped, having been watching the window. "Kankuro, carry her, we have to move fast."

"Whoa!" Loor snapped at Kankuro as the boy in black moved to her bedside. "No one is carrying me! I can walk, now tell me what's going on!" Adrenaline had woken her up, as Temari was all business.

"We don't have time!" Temari snarled, glaring at Loor. "Kankuro, carry her."

"I was beginning to miss having something on my back." Kankuro attempted for humor. "I was wondering why you wanted me to leave Crow behind." Once again, the boy tried to reach and pick Loor up, but she made a move to hit him.

"I'm not going anywhere till you guys tell me what's going on."

"If we take the time to tell you, all three of us could be dead." Temari glanced between Loor and the window nervously.

Loor glared, but her pride could take at least one blow for how intense Temari was acting. "Fine... fine..." She sighed, allowing Kankuro to pick her up and put her in a fireman carry, her arms around his neck. Temari then swept the window open, letting Kankuro and Loor out first. Loor felt like reminding the boy that was a thirty-foot drop to the ground, but he didn't seem to care. She didn't scream on the way down, but instead felt a little more comfort as she found the jump and landing were chakra assisted. She could feel Kankuro using his energy to press up, slowing the fall, and into his legs, to ensure no bones would break. Once he had landed safely, Loor looked back to see that Temari was about to leap out, balanced on the frame, the big black box she always wore on her back in one hand.

She watched as the girl launched from the window, flipping the five-foot box in one hand, using the other hand to open it. The box, in fact, was not a box. It was a five-foot long fan that looked like a box when it was closed. Opened, it was a huge fan with three purple moons on it. Temari used this huge thing like a kite, floating down with grace and looking like she knew exactly how to control where she landed, flipping the thing closed when she was near the ground and landing on her feet. "Let's move."

Loor didn't dare try and track the path they took through Konoha, but it eventually took them towards the forest. The sand pair moved very quickly, as if afraid of something.

"What's going on?" Loor asked again, leaning down over Kankuro's shoulder.

"It's a full moon." Kankuro gave, not even winded despite how fast he was running to keep up with his sister. "You know about Gaara's demon, right?"

"Right." Loor nodded.

"That thing goes nuts on a full moon, and it gets a serious raise in power... enough to posses Gaara and even change him into a miniature of it's true form. We assumed it would be coming after you... so we decided to help you out."

"That's nice..." Loor glanced back. "So... what does this thing look like?"

"Hopefully you won't have to see it."

Far away, there was something of a roar mixed with a howl.

"Shit!" Temari cursed up ahead. "It already knows we're not at the hospital... C'mon, we'll lose him at the river!"

The river was not far, and ice cold. They didn't just walk through it either; they soaked themselves before moving on, and when they did it was silent. They didn't go far from the river, since Shukaku would probably assume that they had run again. Instead, they stuck close to it, Kankuro putting Loor down so she could have some of her pride.

It was mere seconds later that Loor saw _it_ for the first time.

It had to be at least two feet taller than Gaara, and ugly raccoon with sand colored skin and no fur. It had a black nose that twitched at the river, his great head swinging back and forth as his lips parted, showing a great many teeth contained in his maw. Loor noticed that his whole form was riddled with purple veins that pulsed with power.

Shukaku stood at the river, gold eyes peering all around. Loor only risked a short look, hiding again. It was the smart thing to do. Still, she could hear him hissing, and then felt it through her whole body, and the tree she was leaning against, as he loosed another hunting howl.

"You're here... somewhere..."

Loor twitched. It was talking to her.

"I can't smell you yet... but I just have to wait. The fear will make you sweat, and it will lead me to you, and you can't move, because I will hear it. You're trapped, and dead, before the night is over."

Loor was panting slightly, staring at a different tree. It's voice... it was so strange, and vile. She could almost taste how evil this creature was.

But... she knew no fear. Not for herself, anyway. Had she any fear, it would be for the other two sand siblings, but never herself. No, she couldn't fear for herself, only fight for herself.

Loor pushed herself to her feet, and Temari glared at her, lowering to a hissing whisper. "What are you doing???"

Loor sighed. "Someone has to face him..."

"You'll get yourself killed!"

Loor snickered. "Yeah. Probably."

"Are you going to come out, mouse?!" Shukaku snarled, stepping into the water, detecting something.

Loor came around the tree. "Mouse?" She snickered. "I always thought myself a cat."

Her face didn't show fear, not a trace.


	38. Dark Dealings In The Night

Alright, alright. I've left you people on the cliffhanger for long enough, I'll update now.

**No ownage.**

OWTF!!!

**Markings- Chapter Thirty Eight  
****Dark Dealings In The Night**

The scene was silent. On one side of a river stood Shukaku's form, the sand raccoon, glowing gold eyes glaring across the sparkling water, the streaming full moon's light, to Loor. She stood tall, as if she could take on the world and then some. Her blond hair splayed, wet, across her shoulders, blue eyes electrical and sharp.

Finally, Shukaku dropped his front paws into the water, growling voice coming from his inhuman maw. "Cat or mouse... why would an animal of any kind choose to face death?"

"Death?" Loor snorted, dipping her own toes into the water, as if it were some odd game of chicken to see who blinked first. "I'm hardly facing death. I'm facing a coward."

"_Coward?!"_ It snorted, swiping at the water and splashing a great deal up. Loor was already soaked, so she didn't care. "I've already killed one person tonight, and the body count will be many more before the sun returns and my strength breaks enough for that _puppet_ to take control again!"

"Exactly... you don't want to lose control of him, and you're afraid that I'm going to break you... so you choose to simply rid yourself of the thorn. You've tried so hard to get him to kill me, and yet your control hasn't seemed to exist for quite some time. Now, I'm cornered, and you're talking to me. Why give me a chance, or are you just unwilling to do your own work?" Loor stood with her hands on her hips, looking cocky.

"_You?_ Break _me?"_ It growled, walking further into the water. "You're a fool to think such things."

"He's becoming independent of you." Loor grinned, willing to continue into the icy flow up to her shins. Now there was only twelve feet between them, and it would close quickly. "Bit by bit, he will stop listening to you, and you will be but a mute in his head. Think about it, sooner or later, he'll be too strong to take over. Once he realizes he doesn't need you, and that you never wanted to help him..."

"You are but one human, a _female_ no less!"

She giggled. "That's what makes me so dangerous... and making reasons for how I cannot make him defy you doesn't change the truth."

"I will never loose my meat-puppet!" Shukaku was becoming enraged, coming even further into the water, his front limbs covered up to his chest, back legs slowly touching in the current, tail whipping about behind him in suppressed anger. "I will always be able to control him!"

Loor grinned. Shukaku was getting closer and closer to a trap. The river was dumb luck, in all honesty, along with it's size when compared with her target. She just needed him to take one more stride into the middle, and she'd send him the rest of the way down. Where they had crossed through the water was shallow compared to the rest, and though she couldn't see it, there had to be a little underwater cliff because she could see the increase in flow. Once Shukaku was in the center, she could sweep one paw out from under him and send him down without anything to grab.

She also doubted that a desert creature knew how to swim. The cold of the water was bothering the beast enough; she could tell. Hell, she was from a somewhat cold area herself and she was shivering at the icy fingers of the water.

So she matched his step, though hers was shorter, up to her knees in the water, and slightly to the side, to feel the edge under her bare foot. It was there all right, and the rocks were sharp; and added bonus. "Then kill me, Shukaku. Kill me and prevent yourself from losing him. Or..." She grinned. "Maybe you should leave me alive, just to prove to me that I'm powerless to free Gaara from the bounds you've put upon him." She winked. "I doubt that you would enjoy someone thinking you a coward; even if that person was in death."

Shukaku snarled. "Don't try to trick me, witch. I don't need to prove anything to you... but your death will be very, very, slow. When I'm done, there will be nothing left."

"So you _are_ afraid." Loor shook her head, shrugging. "I thought as much. Powerful people tend to be cowards."

Shukaku growled, glaring, taking another step towards the center, one paw down into the depths up to his neck, the other out towards Loor, ready to rip her apart. Still, the beast argued with himself. "How long?"

"What do you mean?"

"How long would I have to leave you alive to prove that I am not a coward?"

"Oh, so your pride does matter to you?" Loor took a baby step, close enough to touch the paw with her own hand if she so wished. "I'd say... till the next full moon. Then you can kill me personally."

"A month to live..." Shukaku agreed. "You had better make the most of it, I am usually not so kind." His paw straightened, the claws out of the way, back legs coming towards the center of the river so he could balance a few more inches forward.

He was holding out his paw to shake her hand; it was a deal.

Loor smirked, taking this large paw with her hand. It was a quick shake, and then he started to slip out of her grasp.

A second before he was completely separated from her, she grabbed at his paw and swept one leg out. She felt the contact with his other front paw, felt it as the beast's front leg went out from under him and she quickly let go. She had gone under for a moment, and came up just in time to hear the beast roar and watch as he went over the lip, the stronger current taking hold.

Shaking from the cold, she came victoriously out of the river and into Temari's arms, the girl trying to dry her off and warm her up.

"Oh my gods Loor, are you crazy??" Temari was laughing though. "Do you have any idea how many different ways that could have gone wrong?"

"Could." Loor agreed, rubbing her own freezing shoulders, flinging the hospital robe off. "Didn't."

"Why a month?" Kankuro asked, coming from the woods now.

"Why?" Loor repeated, laughing a little herself. She had been so charged up. Not scared, but certainly wound. "Because, in a month I'll be gone. It's kinda hard to kill someone when you don't know where they are."

Temari nodded slowly. "Loor... why did you needle him like that? What if he had chosen to pounce?"

"Then I would be dead." Loor gave an easy smile. "The point was to make sure he didn't notice the current down river. If he knew about the lip, the water speed, and the depth, I would have been sunk in my plan."

"But... there isn't anyone Gaara can't track down, much less Shukaku. What makes you think leaving will keep you from getting killed?" Kankuro had asked this, curious.

"Kankuro..." She looked over at him, grinning. "He could look for my home for a hundred years... and he would never find it."

* * *

A ripple ran though Gaara's dormant mind. It was as close as he ever got to sleep, he knew, and would never call it that. And that ripple was the sign that he was once again in control...

He opened his eyes, bright sunlight across his face. How long had it been? Was it already noon? Or later? He wouldn't ask, only look about the hotel room. His was on a bed, his gourd on the floor, his shoes by the door, and his sister at his bedside.

"Gaara." She greeted, smiling brightly.

He groaned lightly, closing his eyes again. "I'm cold..." He muttered, the blanket over his chest not doing much. Just speaking, he could feel the fact that his nose was stuffed up, like he was sick. What did Shukaku do last night? Usually he was protected form the elements by the tough outer skin.

"You're sick, actually, with a fever." Temari corrected. "I guess even demons don't like cold water."

"...water?" Gaara questioned, trying to lift up his head to have Temari push him back down. "What... happened?"

"I can't say." Temari quipped quickly, turning slightly. "Kankuro, do you have that wet rag _yet?!_"

"Coming, coming!" Kankuro cursed, nearly tripping over something on his way into the room. "I'm not used to taking care of my little brother."

Temari sighed. "You're hopeless..." She muttered, taking the cold wet rage from Kankuro and putting it on Gaara's forehead. "Now then," She went into mother mode. "I know you can't sleep, but you had better stay put and _try_ to rest. I'll see about getting medicine later."

Kankuro leaned over Temari's shoulder. "Y'know, impossible as it sounds, I think he actually looks paler than usual." He snickered. "If it wasn't for his red hair and scar, I'd say it was a black and white picture!"

Gaara glared, narrowing his eyes at his big brother. "You can shut up now..." The boy rolled to one side to find that Temari had taken the liberties of taking him out of his usual outfit and putting him into a baggy shirt and pants; night clothes.

Good gods his head hurt.

"Feh... it isn't often I get to tease my little brother." Kankuro groused. "But I'll be nice since you're sick." The elder brother snickered, turning and leaving the room, shutting the sliding door behind him. Temari stayed though, since it was technically her bed that Gaara was resting in. There were only two beds, since Gaara never slept, but she had no problem with letting Gaara sit in hers.

She watched as he rolled onto his back again, closing his black eyes. He was so still, she could have sworn he was sleeping, but knew better. If he slept, the Shukaku would really come out... and at full power. That little raccoon last night was only a pin prick... a real full possession... the thing would be absolutely huge. No one could fight him like that.

"Are you going to lecture me on how I wasn't supposed to be out?" Gaara slowly asked, nearly making Temari jump.

"No... I know you can't help it." She answered just as slowly.

Another pause.

"Is..." He started, clenching his teeth as if he wasn't sure what to say or if he should really ask the question. "Is Loor okay? I know... he wanted to kill her... I told her to run..."

Temari nodded, even if his eyes weren't open. "Me and Kankuro got there first. You don't have to worry about her." She then paused. "Gaara... is something... more wrong than usual?"

"I don't know."

Temari didn't dare reach out to him, just sitting beside him. She knew better than to try and make contact with her youngest sibling. She had a few bones broken from trying to reach out to him before. "You..." Temari wondered if she'd get bones broken anyway for asking this. "You care about her... don't you?"

"She confuses me." He replied.

"Me too. She's certainly... different." Temari snickered. "She acts like she's got nothin' to live for, and then... she acts like she's gotta go on for someone, but it ain't for herself..." She shrugged. "I donno, maybe I'm reading too much into it."

"Why fight for anyone but yourself? To fight for someone else... it's foolish.."

Temari didn't remember a time that she had ever spoken to her bother on this level. Back before the night that Gaara had killed Yashamaru, Temari did her best to be a mother figure. Gaara would even cuddle up with her, clutching his teddy, till that night. The second that scar appeared on his forehead... he changed. He stopped trying, and now he seemed all too much like that small child.

It reminded Temari that she still kept that little bear for him, thought she doubted he knew where it was.

"Well... Gaara... I wouldn't say that." Temari gave after a few moments. "Why do you think I fight? I have you and Kankuro to worry about... I'm always thinking about what would happen if I wasn't around."

He didn't reply, opening his eyes to look at the ceiling and then the window, though he saw none of it. His gaze was a blind one, his thoughts somewhere else. "What would have happened... if I had killed her like I did all the others...?"

She sighed. "I don't know... life as you knew it? Well... I'll tell you one thing for sure..." Temari gave a small giggle. "Your cork wouldn't say 'I win.'"

Gaara winced. He was yet to take something sharp to the cork to get rid of the writing.

"True..." He turned his head, slowly, to stare at Temari as if he hadn't seen her in ages. She'd never seen him so expressive, his face wide open. Gods, the past events were screwing with him more than she thought. "Temari... do you love me, and Kankuro?"

She smiled. "Of course I do. I'm the big sister, it's kinda in my job description."

"It's a mother's job to love her children... and yet..." Gaara left it unvoiced, that their mother had hated him, had cursed him for killing her upon birthing him.

She sighed as his gaze was cast down. "Mom died before she had a chance, Gaara. Maternal love is a hard thing to fight... it's natural. Just like it's natural for me to love you, because you're my little brother. I care about what happens to you, and Kankuro does too. That's why we come out looking for you every time you disappear."

"I thought you didn't want me killing people... or ruining the current plan we have here."

Temari gave a short laugh. "You think I care? Sure, someone will have my head if we don't go through it right, but I'm getting to like this place. The plan is just because we have to, but me and Kankuro get really worried when you run off like that." She then glanced around the room, as if looking for something. "I think I'll be able to sleep a little easier if you just tell me and Kankuro where you're going before you go..."

Gaara didn't speak, eyes returning to the ceiling before closing again. He heard Temari get up; she was rummaging through her things. When she came back, he cracked one eye open to see that she was sitting on her chair again, hiding something behind her back.

"What do you have?" He asked.

"Someone you haven't seen in six years..."

Gaara watched as Temari presented the item behind her back; an old beat up teddy. It was brown, the fake fur slightly fizzled and one eye hanging a little low from where it was usually stitched. "Where...?" He questioned, staring at it. He stopped himself in asking the rest of that question.

Slowly, Gaara let his hand out, the back of his fingers brushing the muzzle, as if to make sure it was real.

"Reality... is defined by what we feel..." He muttered, his hand straying from the muzzle to the bear's ear, feeling the ratty edge of the left ear where he had nearly ripped it off in a fit. Loor had told him that when she had insisted on touching his scar... He thought she meant just sensations through the sense of touch... but perhaps she meant something else.

Temari placed the teddy with Gaara and got up to leave, smirking as the boy quickly hugged the little stuffy to his chest, like a six year old having a nightmare.

* * *

Loor had woken up exactly ten minuets after noon with an explosive sneeze. Gaara wasn't the only one who had gotten sick; at least she remembered the incident at the river.

Fury had been sitting at her bedside when she had sneezed in such a way, and nearly jumped right into the ceiling. Within the next hour, what she had was determined to be a common cold, nothing more, nothing less, and nothing to worry about.

Of course Fury had been wondering why Loor's hospital robe was damp and hanging on the back of the door, but Loor refused to answer that question. At the refusal to answer, Fury made her assumptions.

"Oh, you went out and saw _him_ again, didn't you?"

"Eh...?" Loor yawned, that yawn morphing into another sneeze that rocked her forward in her bed. "...wha... wha...? I donno what you're... talkin' about..." She sniffed between words, reaching around for a tissue.

"Liar." Fury chided, giggling. "You went outside last night... probably out in the woods and got yourself soaked in one of the rivers. Instant cold for someone in your condition."

Five seconds later... Temari walked in.

"Oh, hey Temari." Fury greeted.

Temari nodded to Fury, and then grinned at Loor. "Ya know... my little brother is in about the same condition, 'cept he's really sick. Has a fever and everything."

"I _knew_ it!" Fury cheered in victory. "See, you can't deny it now Loor, I have a witness!"

"Witness of what? Your little sister saving her own ass?" Temari laughed slightly, shutting the door. "Gods... I hate this time of the month."

"Your Aunt Flow in town?" Fury asked, a slang way of asking if a girl was going through her period. Loor still didn't understand this slang, and wondered how Fury learned it when the girl was yet to have her first bleeding.

"Naw." Temari giggled, pulling up a second chair at the other side of Loor's bed. "I mean... well... Other stuff." The eldest sand sibling would spare Gaara's secrets and pride. "Let's just say the youngest of my brothers came the other night on one of his little insanity moments, looking for Loor. You'd better be happy that me and Kankuro got here first, and we went out into the woods to hide."

Loor laughed, sneezing again and finally getting the tissue she was looking for, blowing her nose and tossing it into the wastebasket. "Yeah... we stopped by a river... and I used the cold water to my advantage against him..." She tried to smile, but her eyes crossed as her nose itched again. "_Ah... ah..._"

Temari grabbed a tissue very quickly and shoved it over Loor's nose before a great deal of mucus was expelled into the air.

"...thanks..." Loor muttered after blowing and tossing the used product into the nearly full wastebasket. "I guess it was a bit of a stupid move... but I survived."

"And you're _sick!"_ Fury laughed, shaking her head. "You've never known when to quit..."

Loor snickered, shaking her head. "I know... I know..." She turned her head to Temari. "So... is he resting?"

"The best he can..." Temari sighed. "I feel a little bad leaving him alone, but Kankuro is around if he needs anything, and I wanted to make sure you were okay."

Fury snickered. "Aw, that's so nice of you _Okaa-san."_

_Okaa-san_ means mother for those of you who don't remember.

Loor rolled her eyes as Temari laughed slightly. "Hey, I already play mom to Gaara and Kankuro; I could use a couple daughters after having two sons." She ruffled Loor's hair, who snapped at her hand. "On the other hand, Loor, you're almost as feisty as me."

"Feisty?" Loor chuckled. "I thought I was just hardheaded..."

"Yeah." Temari agreed. "That too."


	39. Of Pups and Wolves

Four updates this week... sorry they were late.

**No ownage.**

OWTF!!!

**Markings- Chapter Thirty Nine  
****Of Pups and Wolves**

As four PM drifted near, Fury had begun to twitch and squirm in her chair. Even though Loor had slept most of the day, and Fury had rehearsed what she was planning to say several times over, she was nervous as hell. What if Loor saw through her? Of course Loor would see through her! Loor could see through anyone!

Loor stirred when four rolled around, and Fury started to rock in her chair, nibbling her lower lip.

Loor slowly turned her head to her younger sister, yawning. "Something... something up?" She asked slowly, yawning, and then sneezing, reaching for a tissue.

"No." Fury squeaked, sitting straight in her chair. "No, nothing at all!"

Loor cast a dreary and slightly suspicious eye at her sister, and then yawned, rolling over. "Whatever... what time is it?"

"Four... ish..." Fury was gripping her pants, trying to calm down. Her palms were sweating. "Um... uh... Naruto is gonna be here early. I'm baling out as soon as he gets here, actually."

"But you leave at five... usually." Loor didn't roll back over, but her tone said she was picking up on something odd. "What's up?"

"Um... Kurenai wanted to see me for some extra training." Fury blurted quickly.

There were a few seconds, and Loor shrugged. "Alrighty then..."

A second later, the door burst in; Naruto's usual entrance. Fury had been getting used to it, but this time she jumped and screamed, looking over panting as both Naruto and Loor stared at the girl.

"Um... s-s-s-sorry..." She stuttered. "I... didn't sleep much last night."

"I don't sleep much ever." Loor gave, shaking her head. "I never jump like that unless something beeped at me... like a phone or something..."

"Yeah, well..." Fury shook her head, getting up and slipping past Naruto very quickly. Her heart was going about a million miles an hour, having just escaped from the belly of the beast.

That was easier than she thought.

Quickly, she moved down the hall, the hospital air suffocating her. She tried to keep it under a crazed run, but the key word would be 'tried.' Once outside, she was much calmer, looking around to find Kiba waiting for her.

She grinned, running over and glomping him. "How long were you waiting?" She asked, noting that, for once, Akamaru was not with him.

"Not long." He smiled. "I just got here." He gave her a quick hug and then put an arm around her shoulders, walking down the street. "Did Loor give you a whole lot of trouble?"

"Do you think I told her where I was going?" Fury laughed sarcastically. "I'd only do that if I wanted her to kill me."

Kiba snickered. "True... I've heard she drove a few nurses out of the job."

"Not surprised." She sighed, shaking her head. "I just hope Naruto doesn't go blabbing... she'd have my head..."

"You told him?"

"Well... I'm not that great at lying to a person's face." She blushed. "So... yeah..."

He sighed. "Then cross your fingers, Naruto is not known for keeping secrets."

* * *

"What was with Fury...?" Loor asked slowly as Naruto let himself in, shutting the door and sitting down. He didn't take long to get comfortable, unzipping his coat and shrugging it off onto the back of the chair and showing off the tight black shirt underneath. "She seemed awful... nervous."

"Well, I guess she has the right." Naruto snickered. "It doesn't matter how many times you do it, you're always going to be a little nervous about what's gonna happen, believe it!"

She nodded drearily, leaning her head back on the pillow. "I would guess so. Doesn't even matter if you do the same things over and over again, it's different every time."

"Yeah!" Naruto grinned, nodding. "And what works with one person might not work with someone else."

Has anyone other than me noticed they're talking about two very different things? No? Oh well.

"...True..." Loor thought a bit before she spoke. "Though... generally, most things work out with most people..."

"Yeah, _generally_, but as you get to know someone it becomes a little more personalized... sometimes there's just that groove you can only get into with that one person." He was becoming a little more serious.

"That is true," she nodded, cracking her neck. "But if you try hard enough, you can find different groves with different people. This person likes sparing, this person likes repetition exercises, and so on and so forth."

Naruto paused. "Loor... you've been hanging out with Lee too much."

"What makes you say that?" She raised an eyebrow. "What, did I start talking without using contractions?"

"No..." He was giving her a funny look of his own brand. "If we're talking about dating and all you come up with actives are training exercises, that's a bit odd."

"Dating?" Loor started to sit up. "Excuse me, Fury's out training with Kurenai, _right?"_

Hrm... you hear that? That is the sound of the shit hitting the fan.

"No," He shook his head. "She's going on a date with Kiba to a sushi bar near the Great Stone Faces, believe---"

Naruto was not capable of finishing his little catch phrase, as Loor had a sudden spasm of her fist connecting with his face out of pure rage. It wasn't that she was blaming the messenger, she was just taking it out on him.

"Ow!! Loor!" Naruto had to stop holding his jaw and quickly get up as the girl removed herself from her bed, making for the door. Quickly, he grabbed her by the arms, yanking her back and then locking around her middle so her elbows were pinned to her sides. "Calm down!"

"I'm gonna fucking kill Scruffy!!" Loor snarled, trying to shake Naruto. "And then I'm gonna maim Fury!"

"You're gonna sit back down!!" Naruto growled, forcing her back onto her bed, pinning her down. "Do _not_ make me go get Shikamaru to use shadow possession on you!"

Loor had slowed in her struggling. "Naruto... you are directly on my broken bones..." She gave through clenched teeth. "And I'm an inch away from killing _you." _

"Nice try." He didn't let up, leaning more to her right side. "Your broken ribs are on the left."

She sighed. Okay, fake pain wasn't going to work. She had hoped to catch Naruto on one of his trademark bonehead moments, but that wasn't going to work.

She felt his hands lift away from her, keeping her down with his body weight alone. A normal full-strength Loor would have thrown him off, but she wasn't even near full strength, so she lay there, growling into the bed sheets as she felt him gathering chakra for some jutsu or another.

_"Shadow clone jutsu!"_

Suddenly, there were five Narutos in the room; perfect copies. The real Naruto let her go, but two more grabbed her.

But these things weren't illusions... they were solid clones. That meant they were just as strong as Naruto too, and where one of them was bad enough, struggling against two was out of the question. Slowly, reluctantly, she was put back into her bed, huffing.

The real Naruto sat back in the chair as Naruto One and Two stayed close at hand, and Three, Four, and Five all went to stand in front of the door.

"You suck." She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest after pulling her blanket back up.

"We try." They all answered in unison.

* * *

The sushi place Kiba had taken Fury to was a nice place indeed. They had women dressed in traditional Geisha garb, though not the make up, doing the job of waitressing and such though the place was set up like a buffet. All they did was pour drinks and, if asked, tell you what's in the sushi and how it was made. In the back of the room, one of these women was playing the shamisen. Had this been a teahouse with actual Geisha, a Miko would be dancing to the music, but most of it was for show.

"There's a real tea house down the way," Kiba had been explaining as they both went for the first rounds, Fury taking whatever Kiba did since she didn't know much about sushi, "But it costs more than I have on the mission fees I get as a genin."

"This place isn't too pricey, is it?" Fury asked timidly.

"Don't worry about it." He chuckled, ruffling her hair. "As long as Ichiraku's is around, I won't starve."

"Okay..." She muttered, following him back to their spots. There was a low table set up with cushions to sit on and chopsticks to eat with. "What did you do with Akamaru?"

"Hana's watching him for me." He snickered. "Would you _stop_ worrying? You can't enjoy yourself if you're worried about something."

"So—" The word was half out of her mouth before she noticed the goofy smile on his face that once again reminded her that she said sorry far too much. A few seconds later, they both burst out laughing. "Alright... alright...!" She giggled, sitting down. "I'll try."

"Good." He smirked across the little table. "Because you're cute when you smile."

She felt herself blush. Did he just say that? Yeah, he did. "Well... um..." She lowered her gaze. "Thanks..."

"Still as timid as a puppy." He snickered, grabbing one of the little rolls on his plate with his chopsticks and popping it into his mouth. "I'll make you into a big brave dog yet though, just you wait!"

"Oh," She got some humor into her voice, reaching for her chopsticks and coming out of her polite demeanor. "Will you, you scruffy old wolf?"

"Gods, not you callin' me Scruffy too?" He laughed slightly. "Next thing ya know, my sister will start callin' me that."

"It's a better nickname than some." Fury shrugged, looking over the various little rice, fish, and seaweed rolls on her plate. She wasn't sure which one she should go after, and picked one at random, popping it into her mouth to find it wasn't that bad. Actually, it was pretty good.

"Really?" Kiba asked, putting one elbow on the table and leaning his head into his hand. "What's the worst you've ever been called?"

"Me?" Fury asked after swallowing. "Grandma."

"_Grandma??"_ He couldn't help a slight laugh. "Okay. That is pretty bad, but why would people call you that? You don't look old."

She rolled her eyes, giving him the 'duh' look as she brushed her fingers through the silver part of her hair. "And people die when they call me that."

Kiba smirked. "I think the silver is cool. It's like something that only you have, so you'll always be an individual. Let people have their names, you'll always be you and no one else, and that's something probably have above them."

"That's what Loor tells me..." Fury shook her head, sighing, seeking out another bit of sushi to eat. She feared she'd get unlucky on one of her picks, but chanced it anyway, grabbing one and quickly eating it before she could think about changing her mind.

She'd gotten lucky again; it was good.

"We can't talk without her getting mentioned, can we?" Kiba chuckled. "Alright, as of right now, Loor doesn't exist."

Fury cracked a smile. "Who?"

They both started laughing and got on with the meal. It was a good night.

So far.

* * *

Loor glared at all five of the Naruto copies and the one original as the evening wore on. Any time she shifted, or sneezed, all six pairs of eyes trained on her. She couldn't do anything without all of them knowing about it. She was pretty sure that if she tried, she could force herself through the two at her bed, but facing three head on at the door sounded like a bad idea.

Wait it out? Jutsu required chakra... Naruto could only have so much, right? Well, he showed no signs of getting tired, so that looked like a no-go or a really long wait.

But the original controlled the rest, didn't it? What if she distracted the real Naruto long enough to get past all the copies? No, these things were solid, not illusions. They, more likely than not, were simply created with an MO; one that currently said she wasn't leaving this room through the door.

But... She suddenly got an idea. A crazy idea that would probably sound like suicide.

She _could_ jump out of the window.

Kankuro had done it last night, hadn't he? She had felt the way he managed his chakra to land safely! She just had to copy off of him and jump!

Three stories? That sounded a little scary.

It was major gut-check time... go or stay?

Loor glanced between all the Narutos... and decided.

It was a quick movement, thrusting off of her bed and turning back to kick one of the two Narutos that were grabbing for her. She hit one, and nearly yelped as it took the hit in the face and puffed out of existence. If she knew they could only take one hit, it would have been a lot easier! Still, she didn't waste time to attack the other one, turning to the window, flinging it open, and jumping before she could think twice.

Three stories... thirty feet. It felt like slow motion, but she couldn't let herself enjoy the dramatics of her own brain. She quickly brought her hands together for an assist, not taking any chances, and gathered as much energy as she could for fifteen feet of her fall. She split it in half as she crossed halfway, half going up, trying to slow her down, the other half down, to fortify her legs.

She landed on her feet, and then fell to her knees. It hurt, but she was alive, and her legs still worked.

She glanced back to see just one Naruto, the real one she assumed, coming after her. Quickly, she took off into the city streets to hide.

She had to stay put for a while... but finally came out once she was sure she was safe. Now... she had to head towards the Great Stone Faces and find out where this sushi place was.

She had to find Fury.

* * *

The sun was just setting as Fury and Kiba finished dinner, making for the ideal romantic walk home. The air had started to get cooler, so he had unzipped his coat and cast it around both sets of shoulders in question. They stayed in the area for a bit longer though, looking at the Great Stone Faces in the orange light, and then turning to watch the sun set over Konoha.

Lightly, Fury slipped her hand into Kiba's, leaning on him.

The walk home was a slow one, half so they didn't trip over each other, half because they were just enjoying the quiet walk.

Perhaps a bit too quiet.

"It's like..." Fury trailed off. "Silent."

"It was bothering you too?" Kiba snickered. "I didn't know whether you liked it or not, so I decided not to talk."

"That's what I was thinking though." She giggled.

"Puppy." He muttered, ruffling her hair.

"Wolf." She snorted back, poking his side. "All this talk of being bold and you can't even break the silence."

"Hey, be nice, this is the first date I've ever had!" He chuckled. "Even big brave dogs get a little nervous."

Fury shook her head slightly. "Whatever, _Scruffy."_

He nudged her. "Yeah, laugh it up _Grandma."_

She glared at him, and then bit his shoulder as if to exact some sort of revenge.

"Is that your way of killing someone?" He asked, half smirking.

"Yeah." She shrugged, inspecting his shoulder to see if she left marks.

"Well..." He grinned. "I'm one bad ass dead person then."

They both laughed quietly, and the silence came as they arrived at the door of the Inuzuka residence. They broke apart slightly, looking at each other.

Kiba was the first to break, brushing a hand through his hair. "Well... uh... I guess sleeping at the same place kinda defeats the point of the goodnight kiss..."

Fury felt herself going bright red again. "I... uh... guess so..." She muttered.

He backed off. "Oh... well... only if--"

His sudden nervousness gave her confidence, stepping out of set female parameters and reaching to grab his open coat, pulling him forward and slightly down, since she _was_ shorter than him.

Kiba shut up when their lips met. It was a quick contact, as if they feared someone was watching, but they came away with secret and blissful smiles.

Then... they both started to laugh. It was a wimpy kiss, but they both enjoyed it, so it was no biggy. Kiba, once again, put his arm over her shoulders, opening the door. "I'll make a big brave dog of you yet... just watch..."

Fury giggled. "_Woof."_

* * *

About ten feet away, Loor had been in hiding. She had followed them as they left the sushi place, and had been about to pounce when Kiba mentioned a 'goodnight kiss.'

Sadly, a particular blond landed behind her and grabbed her at the last second, slamming a hand over her mouth so she couldn't even yell at her little sister to ruin the mood. At first, Loor struggled with Naruto, but then subsided, sitting down and hefting a sigh.

Once he was sure she wouldn't do anything, he removed his hand from her mouth. "Loor... live with it. She's the same age as you."

"You're hardly one to give lectures on maturity, Naruto." Loor huffed, glaring at the ground.

"Who cares?!" He gave her a knock over the head. "Just because you don't believe in romance doesn't mean your little sister isn't allowed to be happy, so just leave off before you mess something up big time!"

Loor sat there for several moments, staring at the front door of the Inuzuka residence. Had she really been trying to stop romance, or was she afraid of losing Fury? Was it rage with her beliefs, or jealousy? Was she so crazy and hellbent on Fury following her tune that she would do this? She had been about to ruin the best part of the night!

Slowly, Loor hefted herself to her feet, turning towards the hospital. "Let's go back."

Naruto nodded, getting up quickly and walking with her.

"Hey... Naruto?" Loor asked on the way there.

"Eh?"

"Are you older than me or younger than me?"

"Um... I donno... when is your birthday?"

"August 28th."

"Older than you then." He grinned. "I'm older than both Sakura and Sasuke too."

Loor nodded, sighing. "Alright then... _Nii-san."_

Of Loor's limited Japanese vocabulary, she knew _Nii-san_ meant 'big brother.' It was good that Naruto was older than her, because she didn't know how to say 'little brother,' and probably would have gone over to her German vocabulary, which was much bigger.

Naruto stared at her for a moment, and then broke into a big smile. _"Imoto-chan."_ He returned, meaning 'little sister.' He then laughed. "But if I'm your big brother, you know what my job is?"

"What?" She asked, raising an eyebrow, happy for his smile. She had been about to go into her emo corner.

"I have to teach you every prank I know!"

At once, she began to laugh. "Alrighty then, Whiskers... as soon as I don't have to beat nurses out of my way to leave the hospital, you can start teaching, eh?"

"Sweet!"

Loor nodded, thinking back to the timid kiss that had occurred between Fury and Kiba.

The night had been very sweet indeed.


	40. Gifts Between Friends

Two of Four...

**No ownage.**

OWTF!!!

**Markings- Chapter Forty  
****Gifts Between Friends**

"Hey, Fury." Kiba gave, letting go of her once they got into his room. "I have something for you."

"What?" Fury had to ask, sitting down on his 'bed' as he rummaged around his room for a few moments. He had hidden whatever it was so she wouldn't find it before he gave it to her, and now he was having issues finding it. She started giggling as he cursed a few times, and then found it.

It was a little item, for he had completely palmed it. Coming over, sitting down, he smirked. "Close your eyes." He gave.

Fury felt her eyebrows go to her hairline, and said jokingly, "Why don't I trust you?"

He snickered. "I don't know. C'mon, leap before you look, right?"

She gave a dramatic sigh, and they both laughed before she complied, closing her eyes and feeling something go over her head and settle around her neck. "Alright, take a look." He said after a moment.

By the time she had opened her eyes, he was holding a little mirror, gods knowing where he got it, so she could see herself. Around her neck was a necklace of a simple brown leather string laced through a tiny little fang. She giggled, picking up the fang to see that it was real, a light layer of glaze over it so it wouldn't rot on the string. "That is so awesome... where did you get the tooth?"

"It's one of Akamaru's puppy teeth." Kiba answered. "He spat it a few days ago, and that makes it special since dogs usually just eat their puppy teeth as they fall out." He then grinned. "So I guess it's a gift from both of us."

Suddenly, at the door, there was frenzied yipping and scratching.

"I think someone heard you call his name." Fury gave, giggling and tucking the necklace into her shirt, as if in fear that Akamaru would still try to eat it. How did dogs eat one of their own teeth anyway? Sounded yucky.

Kiba got up quickly, going over to the door and opening it. The second he did, the puppy bolted into the room, skidding to turn around in the middle of the room, and then leaping at Kiba...

Landing teeth first, latching onto Kiba's arm. This was punishment for leaving for so long. Kiba started to laugh as Fury nearly screamed, shutting the door again.

"Don't worry!" Kiba assured. "He does it all the time when I make him worry. It doesn't hurt that much."

"It looks painful..." Fury muttered, wincing as Kiba walked over, the dog still hanging off of his arm. The boy sat down, coaxing Akamaru off of him by scratching him behind the ears and doing a perfect dog-like whimper. Eventually, the puppy let go to show that his teeth had left slight punctures in the coat. Following that, Kiba took the coat off to find his arm was bleeding from just one spot; probably the tooth that grew in after Akamaru spat the one that was currently hanging from Fury's neck. At the blood, Fury once again yelped, but Kiba laughed to bring her back from the brink of panic.

"Calm down, its no biggy." Kiba snickered as Akamaru started whining an apology, licking the tiny little spot of blood.

"Okay..." Fury sighed, lowering her head, slightly embarrassed that she reacted the way she did. He made so light of it and she was nearly bouncing off of the walls.

"Hey," He ruffled her hair. "It's cool that you worry about me, just be happy that he didn't bite _you._"

Fury squeaked, grabbing her own arms in protection. She then bowed over her knees to say _"Gomennaisai!" _To Akamaru, or 'sorry' if you must have the English for every bit of Japanese Fury knows.

While she was still bent over, the dog jumped up onto her back and curled up, looking all too ready to sleep. Fury stayed bent, as she didn't want to just throw the puppy to the ground. That would be rude. "Ah... Kiba... help?"

Kiba started chuckling, picking Akamaru up by the scruff. "He's silly... and tired. Probably spent half the time we were gone scratching at the door and whining."

Fury nodded slowly, and then yawned. "I'm tired too... so I don't blame him."

Kiba smiled. "Y'know, I'm surprised your sister didn't come charging through. I was so worried Naruto was gonna open his big mouth and ruin all the fun."

"Well, people are full of little surprises." Fury shrugged. "Maybe he did talk and Loor didn't explode."

"Loor? Not explode? Are you kidding?"

There was a slight pause, and they started laughing again, Kiba shutting off the light and both of them settling in for the night.

Heh... if only they knew.

* * *

Loor's mind was a mess. She couldn't honestly think that she was jealous of what Fury and Kiba had, could she? What was so special about being romantically involved with a guy? Didn't Loor always get pissed off when men treated her different just because she was female? Well, of course! A gal can't even wrestle with a guy without it being taken as flirting! Why in the world would she be jealous of Fury?

She had no reason to be... right?

Yeah, she was gonna keep telling herself that.

It was after Naruto left her for the night that she pulled the stunt out of the window again. How she would get back to her room was something she didn't think about, but she needed to clear her head, and that meant she was going to go take a walk. She wondered if the nurses would just stop trying if she kept escaping... or board her windows over. That would be interesting to get through.

Loor's stride was quick, knowing exactly where she was going... to where she had comforted Shukaku. The clearing was deeper into the forest than her usual one, but it was the river she was interested in. Perhaps when she was at full strength the icy water would prove to be endurance training... and walking up the current would be good strength practice.

The more she thought about it, the more she liked it... but she had to check the area out. If there were animals and such around that had already made their home in the area, it was a no-go. She had a fair amount of respect for wildlife, and would never force animals out of their homes for her own ends.

It took a while to get there, and she got lost twice, but she knew it when she made it. It was quiet as it had been last time, the moon still bright enough to cause moon shadows. It made the water glitter, and a summer breeze wrapped it way through, giving her the evening music of the forest as the bugs all made their calls and an owl hooted in the distance.

It was so perfect... and amazing. Who would ever guess this place would ever see a scene like the one that had taken place last night? Slowly, quietly, Loor entered, taking off her shoes so that she could feel the soft grass under her feet. The sensations she got from just being out, hearing all of these sounds, smelling all of the animals and tress, feeling, seeing, and nearly tasting the area around her brought her to being completely at peace.

Slowly, she let herself down to the ground by the river, spreading across the thick mat of grass and feeling the grains of sand from the river bank on the back of one hand, her fingertip touching the icy flow.

Contented, she listened to the area around her. If one listened one would know that a forest, or any woodland, was never silent. There would always be bugs crawling through the grass and on the trees, birds and owls flitting, foxes, rabbits, and all other manner of wildlife wandering, and then the creak of the trees in the breeze along with the trickle of the water going past.

Of course, by listening, one could also tell by silence if there was possible danger.

Loor sat up, glancing about. She had heard it like someone hitting a giant mute button; even the wind seemed to hesitate. Half of her wanted to panic, but she knew the cause of the silence before it arrived, and pulled herself to her feet.

Sure as day, or night, Gaara came through the trees.

"Do you have anything better to do, or do you just make a hobby out of stalking people?" Loor snickered, smiling at him and then sneezing. She was yet to clear her cold, though she was much better than she had been that morning.

He stood there, sniffing himself, and then made an attempt at humor.

"I could be out killing people."

A very poor attempt.

Loor stared for a few moments, raising an eyebrow, and giving a sarcastic smirk. "Y'know, I'm not sure whether to laugh or take you seriously."

He sighed, shaking his head. "Kankuro has been... telling me jokes all day."

"Bedridden, eh?" She walked over, sitting in the grass again and waving an inviting hand for him to sit with her. "You must have gotten much sicker than me."

Slowly, he took a seat. He looked rather unsure, and then became intense, looking at her. "You saw... _it..._ didn't you?"

"It?" She giggled. "As in Shukaku? Yeah, and lemme tell you that thing is an eyesore." She grinned, trying to make light of it, but he didn't seem that happy. Well, this _is_ Gaara we're talking about, he never seems happy, but you get my point, right? Right...

"Temari told me that they got you away from the hospital."

"And out here." Loor gestured around. "This very clearing. You can say that it's my fault that you're sick. I guess cold water doesn't bode well with you desert people, huh?" She then sneezed again, forced to sniff back the mucus since she lacked a tissue. "On the other hand... I'm from a cold region myself and I'm kinda sick."

He was confused, cocking his head to the side. "Then... you faced him? And he didn't...?"

"Kill me?" She ginned. "No, not at all. I think he was too busy trying not to drown." She pointed at where the lip was. She still remembered and highly doubted she'd ever forget. "The water gets rather deep right there, and I led him right into it. Once he hit the stronger current, it was bye-bye raccoon."

His gaze didn't believe her, but she grinned as if to say 'Yeah, you better believe it buddy-boy.'

"Sometimes... I wonder if you're like me." He muttered, lowering his head and shaking it.

"Like you?" She was inquisitive. "You say it like being like you is a horrible thing or something. Nothing wrong with being different, normal is boring."

He ignored her pep talk. "I heard you talking to yourself once... and I wondered at first who you were talking to. But... if you can face Shukaku without fear..."

She saw where he was going with this, and cut him off. "Nope, buddy boy." She giggled, shaking her head. "I'm just a little crazy... and I have no reason to be afraid of anything. I talk to myself... because I have to. If I don't, I just lose it. I don't have a demon, but it's as good as. If I ignore my emotions long enough, it'll explode all the same."

He didn't say anything, his eyes leaving the conversation. He had sunk into thought again, and she respected it as long as it took for him to come back to the surface.

"He... won't talk to me." He finally gave, huffing a large sigh. "At all."

Loor smirked. Truly a man, or beast, of his salt. "Odd." Was all she said, putting her hands back and leaning on them. "So... how long will you and your siblings be staying in Konoha?"

"Only as long as we have to... once the chunnins are over, we will go home."

"So... just under a month, huh?"

"Before... the next full moon."

She now understood what the full moon meant.

"Maybe I'll come visit your home some time." She gave, trying to be optimistic. "Though me and Fury shouldn't be staying much after the chunnins ourselves. We have to get home pretty soon... responsibilities and all that crap."

"Perhaps you should leave before." He said quickly. Loor stared. That was the first time Gaara had anything said anything quickly. Most of his sentences were thought out so he could say as little as possible... but this was a spontaneous statement.

"Alright." Her voice went to authority. "What's going on? All three of you have warned me about the finals and to clear out before they happen; what the hell?"

"It is our own business... but if you value your own life you will leave." His voice had changed like hers had; becoming cold.

"I won't value my life unless you tell me what I'm protecting myself against." She growled. "I either find out now or then."

"Then you will find out when it happens..." He then sighed again. "And it will not be my fault if you get hurt."

She stared at him for several moments, and then shook her head. It was defeated, reminding herself that she was being rather hard on him. Once she noted this, she did something that Loor didn't do very often.

"Sorry." She gave sincerely. She then paused. Dear god, dare she?

Yes, she did.

"I'll trust you." She finally said, looking up at the moon through the break in the trees. "I might stay anyway... but I take you at your word if you say it's dangerous." She then smiled. "I always liked danger."

He made another attempt at humor. "So that's why I didn't scare you off." He pushed the gourd off of himself, laying back on the grass to look at the moon as she was. She slowly lay beside him.

"You wanna know something?" She asked. "When we first met... I might have just been a _tiny_ bit scared... but fascinated at the same time." She shook her head. "With me, fascinated usually wins."

"Curiosity killed the cat."

"Y'know, I think you might be getting better at the joking thing." She giggled. "As for the cat... sucks to be the cat, but I'm not dead yet."

There was silence as they both stared at the moon. It looked full, since it was only one day past, but seeing as Gaara was on the saner side of things it would be quite obvious that it was not a full moon, it just looked like one. Still, staring at it, both Loor and Gaara had the same individual on the mind.

Shukaku.

Loor was wondering if her plan would work, in all honesty. She basically wanted this to work as a deadline for herself... to make Gaara strong enough to fight it demon, but that type of thing of breaking barriers and such from trauma involved processes that were gradual and usually took months or even years.

And she gave herself one month. _Great._ Of course, she had a back up of being able to run and come back in the case of the full moon rolling around before she could get him to that point. Still, she had no idea how long her way was gonna take. She'd never attempted to take on a case like this... ever. She'd faced masochists, inferiority complexes, and a dual personality... but this was one case that she could never be prepared for. She'd have to be on the crash course, and if she failed, it would be her death.

Death... why death? Perhaps Shukaku's demands of blood should have been a comfort to her. He was obviously afraid of being dethroned, which meant that she could be close to something. Maybe.

Gaara's thoughts were pondering the empty spot in his memory from the night before. He was used to those holes, but it was strange that Shukaku would ignore him when he tried talking to the beast, to ask questions. Something must have happened when he met Loor... something important.

Oh gods, what if she was betraying him to save her own skin? What if she was going to work up his trust just to pull the rug out from under him and send him into a blood rage/ killing spree?

He glanced at Loor, whose eyes were half closed. The girl, looking rather frail at the moment, was falling asleep. She looked not nearly the type for such a betrayal... but he didn't exactly look the part of a homicidal maniac, did he?

But he didn't want to think that about her. After several moments, he decided that it would be impossible for her to do that to him; not after saying that she'd help him. He trusted her word for some reason, even if she said that she lied and deceived rather often.

Besides... she was trusting him, wasn't she?

"You're staring at me..." She gave, yawning.

His gaze darted away, back to the moon. She giggled at his sudden reaction, and he looked back slowly to see that cocky smile on her face again.

"I didn't say you weren't allowed to stare at me, I was just noticing." She shrugged. "I'm used to getting stared at, so it's no big deal. I might ask why you're staring, but that's about it."

"I..." He paused. "What happened last night... when you saw it?"

"When I saw Shukaku?"

He nodded.

"Well..." She yawned again, covering her mouth. "I made a deal with him... a type of bet, so to say."

Gaara didn't shout, but he was certainly shocked with her. He stared at her, rolling onto his side to completely face her. "You what...?" He managed after several seconds. "What kind of bet?"

"Quite simple, really." She assured, smiling slightly. "I called him a coward, so he agreed to let me live for another month and then kill me personally."

He sat up, he look on his face beyond shock as he looked down at her. "Are you insane?" He questioned. "You've signed your life away!" His voice wasn't very loud, but he certainly was intense.

She followed his gaze, not getting up. "Don't tell me you _care?_" She asked this with a grin.

He opened his mouth, but his mind suddenly reminded him that words were unnecessary. There was no changing the current situation, and reasoning with her would make no difference. He closed his mouth, teeth clicking together, and let himself down on the grass again. He didn't say that he had to think, but that was the case. It didn't matter, she had stopped talking and wasn't likely to impede upon his thoughts.

Why would she be so stupid as to just hand her life off like that? Did she think that in a month she'd be able to fight him? Or... was it something else? What was the actual bet? Why had she called Shukaku a coward?

The silence stretched on for several moments, and he finally turned his head to her to ask the infamous 'why' question. Sadly, he was too late; she had fallen asleep. His eyes lingered upon her face as she slept, simply because her expression was haunted.

Once again, that twisted frown of pain was on her face, the one he didn't like.

Loor would wake up in the hospital the next morning with a little vial of sand at her bedside; his form of a gift. She _was_ helping him.


	41. Escape

Three of Four...

**No ownage.**

OWTF!!!

**Markings- Chapter Forty One  
****Escape**

Loor woke up to someone nudging her shoulder, bringing her around to her bright white hospital room. At first she panicked. How did she get here? She remembered... falling asleep outside, staring at the near-full waning moon. Gaara had been there...

Her head turned to the side, taking note of an small odd bottle sitting at her bedside. A bottle of sand. Wait, sand?

Did he gift her something?

Was this his way of saying thank-you?

She wasn't allowed to question it anymore, looking in the other direction as she was nudged again, raising an eyebrow as she saw Fury in her room. The hour had to be early, probably eight in the morning, and Fury looked rather serious.

"What?" Loor finally asked.

"Congratulations." Fury gave back, shaking her head. "You pissed enough people off."

"What are you talking about?"

"You made enough nurses mad enough that they're forcing you to leave." Fury sighed. "They usually reserve medical jutsu for people in the ninja program, but they're tired of your little escape acts so they're using it on you so you can just leave."

"Oh..." Loor's half awake mind tried to process this quickly. "Sweet. So I'll be good as new?"

"Better, actually." Someone said, entering the room. She was a doctor, not a nurse, and had a taught face that sported a bruise on the right cheek. "Jutsu tends to put a little extra padding on bones and muscles. All you have to do is hold still."

Loor lifted her head slightly. "You look like someone I've seen before... you're not one of the people I punched, are you?"

"One of many." The doctor snipped back, walking up and harshly forcing Loor's head down. "Now sit still."

Fury backed off as Loor went to lay on her right side, the blankets shifted and the robe removed so that her affected ribs on the left were up and exposed, removing the wraps. The doctor did her work quickly, laying her hands on the damaged area as if she could tell, simply by a sense of touch, what she'd need to do. Loor could feel it though, little feeling tendrils of the woman's energy. She was finding what needed fixing.

"If you had properly rested, you would be out of here by now and we wouldn't have to do this..." The nurse sighed. "You're going to have a dent in your ribs for the rest of your life, I hope you're happy."

"I'll live." Loor muttered.

"Maybe so, but don't expect us to welcome you back with open arms the next time you get hurt."

Yow, snippy. Loor attempted to ignore the comments and just held still as the hands pulled away. Fury watched as the doctor formed several hand signs in quick session. Fury knew that not all of them were animal signs, the basic building blocks of jutsu that she and Loor had learned, and the energy the woman was forming was rather complex. Eventually, this energy was directed to her hands, and said hands became poised over Loor's ribs again as they began to, believe it or not, glow green with energy.

Loor gasped lightly as the energy licked her skin, feeling it sink through and going to the bones. It was so strange... not awful, just strange. She did her best to hold still, but her toes fanned out as it began to tingle.

Five seconds later, the doctor pulled her hands away. "Now get your stuff and get out."

Fury snorted as she left the room. "Wow... rude."

"Well..." Loor muttered. "I _did_ punch her."

"True..." Fury agreed, sighing and shaking her head. "So... can you move?"

"I donno... I haven't tried." Loor admitted this slowly. She was a little afraid to get up. Would it hurt? What if something had gone wrong? What if the bones were still broken?

She snorted at herself and, on a count of three, sat up. She put too much 'oomph' on it and tipped forward in the bed, landing on all fours and nearly off the end.

"Well, we'll take that for a yes." Fury giggled, shaking her head and sitting next to her sister. "So... what's with the bottle?"

"Eh?" Loor asked, looking at Fury.

"Don't play dumb, there's not a bottle of sand on your night table for no reason. You saw him _again_ last night, didn't you?"

Loor shrugged, slipping off of her bed and shedding of the robe, working on getting the chest wraps off, not caring the Fury was still in the room as she went hunting for her bra, her stuff stashed in the night table's drawer. "Why don't you ask him?"

"Oh, sure, and have my ribs looking like yours?" Fury shook her head, turning around so she didn't have to see her big sister unbridled. "How about not?"

The room was left silent as Loor got dressed back into her usual outfit, along with her coat, and grabbed the bottle of stand to stash it away. She was happy to be able to walk around without that stabbing pain in her side. Medical jutsu really was a wonderful thing... the guys in the ninja program had it freaking sweet if that was all their hospital experience had to it.

Wait...

"I'm... ah... gonna go see Lee."

Fury turned to find her sister dressed, and then nodded. "Okay. I heard he actually woke up for a few moments last night."

"Really?" Loor got a smile. "Alrighty, I'll see you later Fury." She went for the door, and then paused by her sister to smirk. "Oh, by the way Fury... that kiss you gave Kiba was _really_ wimpy."

Fury froze, turning bright red, which let Loor leave her room and head towards Lee's unhindered.

The walk seemed to take longer than it should have, but she didn't care. She just kept moving and opened the door when she got there, letting herself in to take a look at him. He looked almost normal now, and just looked like he was sleeping or something. She knew better though. His bones in the left arm and leg had been shattered. Even with medic jutsu, no one could just walk away from that. She glanced around, and then went to grab the chair by the wall, pulling it up to sit by his bed.

One eye suddenly came open as he heard the sound of the chair moving. His dark brown eye flashed first to the ceiling, to the window, and then to where he had heard the noise. It looked unfocused at first, but she watched as the brown iris adjusted to light and distance, seeing her and opening the other eye.

"...Loor..." He managed, voice weak, eyes still dull even if he could see her.

She smiled the best she could. "Hey, Lee..." She sat down. "How... are you doing?"

He tried to return her smile, but it was weak. His left eye was only half open, and his smile also drooped at the left side. "Fine... mainly..." He sighed, eyes shifting to the left. "I can not feel half of my body... in a day they will put me on different painkillers so I can move... but they do not want me to till my bones have finished the first stage of healing."

"How long have you been awake?" She asked, pulling her chair closer.

"A few moments yesterday night..." He looked back over at her. "A few hours this morning." He then reached one hand out, his right, as she was on his right side and it was the hand that worked. She offered her own, to be supportive. "I am happy you came to visit me."

"Actually," Loor felt a slight blush creep across her cheeks. "I'm just getting out today and thought I'd drop in before I vacated my bed."

"Getting out...?" He asked this slowly, his mind still operating at a crawl. "Wait... I remember... you went missing the day of the--"

"The chunnins..." Loor completed for him, sighing. "I know. I mean... I don't really know what happened at first... but..." She sighed, squeezing his hand. "Something happened Lee, and I blacked out... and I woke up in the forest."

"Konoha forest?"

"The Forest of Death." Loor hung her head, like a wilted flower. "The man I told you about... the man who killed my family... he came back. We fought, and I survived... I've been here with a couple of broken ribs from the fight."

He listened. "I have been here because of the fight with that sand ninja..."

"Gaara." Loor offered, and he nodded with another attempt at a smile. "Yeah... about him." She gave a nervous chuckle. "He tried to come back and finish you when you were still out."

His hand suddenly gripped hers a lot harder. "Tried?"

"Me and Fury stopped him."

"...how? I fought him... he is impossible to damage..." His eyes darted to his left side, remembering still the damage done to him with the sand. "Nothing could stop him."

"Not in a fight, maybe." She lifted her head, out of her shame. "But he's still human. Don't worry about it, and don't be so quick to hating him."

"Why hate him?" He asked. "_Suna No Gaara_..." He muttered, which meant Gaara of the Sand, "He is a worth adversary, one I will take on once again if I get the opportunity."

"He also saved my life."

Lee's eyes widened in shock.

"Yeah..." She giggled lightly, embarrassed. "I owe him one. I was left in the forest, beaten and broken, and he carried me to the tower so I could get help... protected me the whole way there."

There was a long silence in the room. One had to wonder if they were talking about the same person. "He does not seem capable of doing such..." Lee murmured. "But the debt is clear. I would question what he would do with your life."

"I don't think he wants to do anything with it." She shrugged. "I didn't think much of saving me either... thought at first I wanted to kill him... I can't _stand_ being rescued."

"Then stop getting hurt."

"That's not happening." She snorted. "You know that... Oh well." She let go of his hand, getting up and pushing the chair back quickly, pulling the blankets a little higher for him and clearing the hair out of his face. "I'm gonna get going. I'll be back tomorrow if they let me in."

"Thank you for seeing me..." He then sighed. "Odd... you owe Gaara your life, and I owe you mine."

"Now all we need is for Gaara to owe you his life and we'd have a funky triangle going." She laughed, leaning over him to smile. She wanted to do something, but she feared hugging him for the fact that she could shift something the wrong way and the nurses would have yet another reason not to let her into the building. As Lee made a halfhearted attempt at a laugh, she glanced about the room, as if to make sure no one was watching.

"I do not think Gaara will ever need anyone to save him, but it is an interesting thought." Lee yawned. "I think I will... sleep some more."

Loor nodded, finally deciding upon the best gesture of friendly affection to give before leaving.

She quickly leaned down and pecked his forehead, standing straight all too fast. "See you tomorrow."

She left before she could notice that she made Lee blush.

* * *

Of the many things that Loor missed while she was in the hospital, bathing by herself was a big one. She was sick of assisted sponge baths, and once she had gotten back into Lee's apartment by picking the lock (her key was still in the apartment because she had left through the window the night before she woke up in the Forest of Death, and she had been on her way back when she blacked out) and dropped off the strange little bottle of sand that still puzzled her to no end. After that, she turned her nose towards finding the public showers; an easy feat.

The shower was wonderful to say the least. She was blissfully alone and able to scrub herself for once. Of course, this included a full body examination to take notice of several things that had happened with her body in the past month and two weeks; of course there was the dent on the left side of her rib cage that she'd deal with for the rest of her life, bruises, scratches, and all manner of small damage in places she didn't even want to mention, and then the fact that it looked like she was about to put on another cup size; she had more stretch marks than she had a month ago. _Great._

That was the last thing she needed. She really wished she'd stop growing in that region; she already had back problems and she didn't need them to get worse. Not to mention the bigger those stupid growths on her chest got, the smaller everyone thought her brain was, and the more men ignored the fact that she even had a brain. How many times had she used the line 'Uh... my eyes are up here' on the many boys she encountered in her life? Besides that, she was happy that her muscle tone hadn't gone completely shot from time spent in the hospital, and concluded that she was going to need a hair cut or a hair binder by the end of the week.

Once she had scrutinized herself several times over, and washed, she took the short walk to the hot springs across the way. Once again; heavenly. Part of being alone was that she could forsake the towel without Fury yelling at her, and sink into the water without a care in the world.

After a while in the hot water, she started stretching out her muscles. She had hardly been able to keep her back in check while on that hospital bed, and could feel the pain from the near seizures of the right flank muscles near her spine. Much longer, and she would have been screaming from just trying to get out of bed. The hot water and long stretching session was just what the doctor ordered.

It was near the end of this session, standing up out of the water, that Loor sensed something odd... she felt as if she were being watched. Slowly, she started to look around while stretching still, to make it look natural and not like she was looking for a stalker.

It was to her left, at the corner between the divider to the boys' bath and the wall that kept the outside world from seeing the girl's bath, that she noticed a small hole in the wall. Through this hole was the glint of glass.

A spyglass? A peeping tom?

She had to wonder.

Instead of raising the alarm, like any other girl would do, she started to put on a show. She made sure to stay standing, rubbing hot water all over herself to see if she would evoke any noise out of the person who was supposedly watching her. It wasn't very loud, but she knew there was a slight whimper on the other side of the wall. Either someone just stepped on a dog or she was effecting the hound on the other side of the wall.

Dashing, she moved to have her eye right up against the hole. "Hello."

The person yelped, and she grinned. It was so much fun screwing with people. After a few moments, she could see the person on the other side; as he had backed away from the hole. He was a fully-grown adult, if not a bit older. Still, he was in good condition, so she couldn't tell. He could have been anywhere between thirty and fifty. He had long and bushy white hair that was pulled back into a single tail, red markings on his face, and a traditional type top and pants. That was all she could see at the moment as he was stashing his spyglass away.

"Are you running away?" She asked with a giggled. "You're a bit of a coward, aren't you?"

She'd been throwing that word around a lot lately.

He paused in his escape attempt, looking back at the hole and then crawling up, looking at her, though she was so close all he could get was her face. "Aren't you going to scream for help like everyone else?"

"I'm not everyone else, I'm me." She gave, rather rude sounding. "Who the hell are you?" She asked this because she had finally caught sight of his headband. It was on his head, but it was different from the others that she had seen. Instead of just the steel plate, it had two spikes on it that were pointy and looked like they'd be painful if the guy decided to suddenly head butt you. It also had a symbol that couldn't have stood for a village, it was actual kanji that she didn't know.

He stared at her for a few seconds, and then noticed that a girl was asking his name. "Why should I tell you?" He snipped, rather serious. "So you can get the authorities on me?"

"No, so I don't sit here callin' you 'Snowy.'" She laughed and sat in the water near the wall, still able to see his eye. "Would it make you feel better if I told you my name first?"

"What are you playing at?"

"Nothing." She grinned. "Just curious."

There was a long pause. "Name's Jariya." He finally announced with pride. "Also known as the Toad Sage."

"Never heard of ya." Loor snickered as he seemed crestfallen, whimpering slightly. "Hey, I'm not from these parts. They call me Loor. I'd shake your hand, but there's a wall in the way." She then paused, her mind suddenly flashing on something. "Wait a tic... I have heard of you!"

"Really?"

"You're that writer... you write Kakashi sensei's favorite book, and you're Naruto's trainer..." She trailed off. "Wait a second, where's Naruto?"

"Practicing." Jariya said this dismissively. "Have you read the books?"

She laughed. "Dude, I can't even read the cover. It isn't in my language... though they sound right up my alley." She then glanced around. "Hey, wait there. I'm gonna come out there and talk to you right after I get dressed. The hole makes it a little weird."

"No problem." Jariya nodded, and she quickly got up, walking across the spring to grab her towel, aware that he was probably still watching her. She went into the bathhouse to change back into her clothes, and zipped her coat all the way up despite the weather. Regardless of Jariya being Naruto's teacher and a fellow writer, he had still been watching her through a hole in the wall. She didn't need an erotica author going rapist on her just because she strutted about in a sports bra all day.

Just as she got outside, she could hear that Naruto had arrived.

"Pervy Sage! Whaddya doing all the way over here? You're supposed to be helping me!"

"For the last time, stop calling me Pervy Sage! And I'm doing research for my next book! You can train by yourself, can't you?"

"Not if I keep falling into the water!"

Loor had come around the corner now, wondering what Naruto was training to do. Obviously he was training to go up against Neji in the chunnin finals, but why would that involve water? Coming around the corner she could see her blond friend glaring at the perverted sage.

"Hey, Whiskers, how you be?"

Naruto at once reacted to his nickname. "Loor?" He then grinned. "You're outta the hospital! Wait... did you break out again?"

"Nope." She laughed lightly. "They got fed up with me and just used a jutsu so I'd get out of their hair. Check this out..." She then lifted up the coat to show off the new dent in her ribs. "Sick, huh?"

"Dude, sweet!" Naruto quickly rushed over. "Can I poke it?"

"Go ahead. It doesn't hurt."

Naruto grinned, reaching out one finger and lightly poking the dent. "Whoa, that is cool..."

She giggled at him, putting her shirt down and casting an arm over Naruto's shoulders. "Hey, Pervy Sage," She ginned at Naruto after using the nickname, watching Jariya's face twist into a sour expression. "Can I borrow Naruto for a few hours? I have something on my agenda that needs handling."

Jariya got up to his feet, shrugging. "Sure, why not? We were gonna quit pretty soon anyway. You kids have fun." He turned, smirking over his shoulder. "I have work to do."

And then he was gone, vanishing to the rooftops.

"What did you want...?" Naruto asked slowly.

Loor grinned. "You remember Ebisu, Kony's snooty trainer?"

"Yeah?"

"Let's go screw with him."


	42. Inner Demons

Okay… now for the actual forward of the week…. 

I'M SORRY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm sorry the updates were late, I'm sorry that there's not that many of them, and I'm sorry that I got a boyfriend that has a great way of taking up all my free time. I'M SOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRRRRRYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1!!!1!!! AHH!! FEAR THE RANDOM ONES!!!

….oops… lost control there… hehe….

Anyways….

**I don't own it.**

OWTF!!!

**Markings- Chapter Forty Two**  
**Inner Demons**

"So... theoretically, you can create new jutsu on your own?" Loor asked, cocking her head to the side.

"Not theoretically, for sure!" Naruto grinned. "I made the Sexy Jutsu and Harem Jutsu myself!" He seemed rather proud of this fact. "Why? You want me to teach you how so we can double dip on Ebisu and run?"

"Naw." Loor giggled. "I'm just wondering... is it really hard? How long does it take?"

"Depends." Naruto shrugged. "The Sexy Jutsu didn't take too long to come up with because it's just improvising on the transformation jutsu. Most people don't like to do that because you generally base transformation on someone you've met, not something in your head. Other people make new jutsu from scratch, and that takes a huge understanding of chakra and what each hand sign means, and how to formulate everything. Not to mention they have to be able to test it... and if something goes wrong, and I mean _really_ wrong, it could be a mess afterwards that I don't wanna clean up!"

"Oh..." Loor looked down. "I see." She seemed disappointed.

"What? Whadda ya want?"

She shrugged. "I had a random idea, but it required some sort of adhesive that doesn't ware off too quickly. I thought perhaps that, if making new jutsu wasn't that time consuming, I could put all my chakra training to good use because I can't find any glue... I highly doubt you guys have jutsu for sticking stuff to things."

"Sure we do!"

She looked at him. "Eh?"

"Think about the chakra application to walking on trees!" Naruto urged, almost jumping up and down. "That's a basic enhancement jutsu, and I know the properties of _some_ hand signs!"

This was allowed to sink in before she grinned. "So then..." She motioned ahead. "Shall we?"

"Sure!" Naruto was nearly exploding with energy now. "Believe it!"

"You had to say that, didn't you..." She muttered, following with a slightly calmer step.

"Of course!" He beamed back. "Just one question though?"

"What?"

"Whadda ya gonna call it? A jutsu for gluing things?"

There was a few seconds, and then she got an almost demonic look on her face. "The Sticky Jutsu!"

* * *

Konohamaru was rather depressed at the moment.

He had escaped Ebisu that morning rather easily, just waiting for the right time to jump out the window of the building they were in at the time, to go play with Mogi and Udon. He hated the way Ebisu always talked about the fast track to becoming Hokage, since Naruto had already taught him different. He knew better, there was no fast way to become the Hokage, you had to fight your way up to being top dog. He'd become the strongest, and He'd take Udon and Mogi with him so they could help him!

Sadly, near noon, while playing with his friends, he felt the now failure feeling of someone grabbing the back of his shirt like seizing up a kitten by it's scruff. Him and his friends couldn't even play a simple game of tag without Ebisu coming and snatching him up again!

And of course, his snooty trainer scolded him the whole way back.

Of course, Kony didn't hear a word of it, just nodding and shrugging whenever the adult in this equation paused for a reaction. In his mind, he was counting the steps back to the academy where they would resume training from this morning...

It was so boring... he learned more playing ninja with his friends. Not to mention it was more fun.

It was approaching the academy that something happened. Actually, it was right at the door. Konohamaru heard something beside Ebisu's droning, and took a glance up to see what had made the noise. It sounded like... someone trying not to laugh. Glancing about, he caught a minor glimpse of a little tuft of blond hair on the eve above the door to the academy.

_Naruto...?_ Kony tried to contain his smile, looking down again and trying to look depressed. Naruto had to be there to play a prank on Ebisu, and he would escape yet again! He just had to wait...

Though not very long.

One second Ebisu was droning, the next he was tense as someone landed behind himself and Konohamaru, having jumped off of the roof. He only turned his head slightly, and then gave a superior smirk.

"Naruto, here to play another little game? You're training with Jariya now, aren't you?"

Naruto, for that was who it was, grinned right back. Kony looked too, and returned the grin. Naruto had something up his sleeve besides exposing, once again, that Ebisu was a closet purve. "Me and Jariya are already done for the day, so I decided to drop by to get you to leave Konohamaru alone, believe it!" Naruto pointed a finger at Ebisu during this speech.

"The Honorable Grandson and I have a great deal of work to do, why don't you run along and go play with your friends, you delinquent?" Ebisu held his snotty tone, of course.

Naruto chuckled. "I would, but Konohamaru is one of my only friends, so I can't go play without him!" Konohamaru grinned as Naruto took a stance, making a hand sign... he was gonna use it again! The Sexy Jutsu!

"That scandalous jutsu again?" Ebisu seemed bored. "I told you, that last time was a simple fluke."

"Says you, ya pervert!" Naruto grinned. "This time... you're goin' down..."

Kony glanced between his friend and his trainer, watching as Naruto began to build energy and Ebisu probably closed his eyes...

For something to drop from the roof onto Ebisu's head.

At first there was silence from both Ebisu and Kony as Naruto and someone else on the roof broke out in hysterics.

Someone had dropped a bucket onto Ebisu's head. A silver metal bucket that had no handle on it. The rim went all the way past Ebisu's chin and almost to his shoulders, thus making sure the man couldn't see a thing. Konohamaru had to stare for several seconds before he too started laughing his ass off, holding his stomach and pointing as Ebisu attempted to pull the bucket off of his head to no avail.

That's when the other person on the roof showed herself, jumping down to land beside Naruto, still snickering. "Try all you want, Ebisu! There may not be any glue in there, but you can probably feel the chakra from the jutsu at the top of your head. Don't worry, it'll ware off... in about forty two hours."

"Who is that?!" Ebisu crowed, still trying to yank the bucket off of his head. "I've heard that voice before!!"

"You already forgot me?" Loor cackled as Kony ran over to join her and Naruto. "The name's Loor for those who can't remember it, and you just got owned!"

Naruto had gone low enough in laughing to be able to talk again. "Oh... yeah, don't take her word for how long it takes for the jutsu to ware off... we don't really know! We just made it an hour ago!"

"What's... what's it called?" Konohamaru wheezed.

Loor smirked. "The Sticky Jutsu." She then leaned down, pointing to Ebisu. "You wanna do the honors, Kony?"

Konohamaru didn't quite know what she meant at first, but then grinned, nodding. Loor watched as the little boy dashed up to the man who was still trying to yank the bucket off of his head, and smacked a flying kick into the man's stomach that propelled him into, and through, the front door to the academy.

Loor and Naruto traded a high-five. "Victory!"

And it was sweet.

Kony ran up to them, practically glowing with energy now. "Oh man guys, you gotta teach me an' the gang that one! You so totally--"

Loor snickered, leaning down and putting her hands on Kony's shoulders, ruffling his hair a little bit. "Take it easy there, buddy-boy. We were planning on that one anyway. We just gotta work all the kinks out of it first. Ebisu was our test subject. We don't know how well or how long that bucket will stick. Once we know how it all works, you and your group will be the first to know."

"Really?!"

"Really..." She snickered, shaking her head and getting up again. "Thanks for the help, Naruto. I had been meaning to get back at that guy for a while now."

"Get back at...?" Naruto questioned as the three of them started walking. "Wha'd he do to you?"

"He frightened her when they first met!" Kony chimed in, trotting to keep up with his older, longer legged, friends.

Loor growled at Kony for a second, saying it so bluntly, but then sighed. "Yeah... I... had an issue with people dashing around me, and I had been looking for a fight without knowing his skill level. He dashed once, and I froze. I take that as a loss, and I promised to get him back before I left. Well..." She glanced back as Ebisu was just now picking himself out of the wreckage of the door, bumping into the door frame and falling down again. "I think I take that as a defeat on his part. Now I just have a few people left on my list..."

"Who?" Both boys asked in stereo.

Loor giggled, shaking her head. "Well, I still have Neji on my list... though I don't think I can take him quite yet, and Hinata too. She beat me in a spar and I plan to return the favor. And..." She paused, and shook her head. "That's it."

She would have mentioned Orochimaru, but decided against it. He was her final boss... she knew that Naruto cared for his friends. If he knew her goals, he'd try to help her... and she refused to let himself get killed.

Naruto gave her a funny look for the pause, but shook it off. "Well, you can't go up against Hinata yet... she's still recovering from the chunnins."

"Really?" Loor asked. "What happened to her?"

Kony pouted. "I wanted to see the fights... but you're only allowed in if you're a candidate or a sensei."

Naruto shook his head at his young friend, and turned his attention back to Loor. "She went up against her older cousin, Neji. He..." Naruto paused. "You know what the gentle fist does, right? The fighting style that Neji and Hinata use?"

"Yeah." Loor nodded. "Neji threatened me with it once. It messes with your chakra network."

"Right." Naruto nodded. "Well... Neji beat her petty good, but she kept coming back for more. She wouldn't give up... and he nearly killed her. She was coughing up blood by the end." He gave a slight smile. "Though... she went until she didn't have anything left to fight on. I kinda respect that she wouldn't give up."

"Whoa..." Loor muttered. Still, half her mind went to the 'coughing up blood' part. The other half went to needling Naruto. "You like her, don't you?" She asked, elbowing him.

"Hey!" Naruto yelped. "Take it easy, those are my ribs!"

"Yeah, mine got broken, yours could take a little abuse."

"KONOHAMARU!!!"

There was a moment that our current trio could look to see a pink and red blur heading in their general direction before said blur, Mogi, knocked Kony over in a huge hug. Udon wasn't far behind, and helped his other two friends up. Kony was laughing.

"Mogi, c'mon, get off of me!"

"We missed you!"

"I didn't die!"

Loor rolled her eyes, turning with Naruto to keep walking. "Young love..." She muttered, shaking her head.

Naruto chuckled as they left the trio of children behind them. "You said that about Fury and Kiba too."

She snorted. "Fine, young_er_ love." She stretched. "Odd... I spend my first day out of the hospital playing pranks. You'd think I'd get right back to training... but my peer sensei is still hospitalized."

"You mean Lee?" Naruto questioned.

"Yeah." Loor nodded. Her voice had gone a little softer. "Though... I'm almost happy I didn't see the fight."

"Why?"

"I wouldn't have known who to cheer for." She shook her head. "I've been working with Gaara, and as abnormal as he is, I know what simple things would do. If I had been there and cheered for Lee, he would feel abandoned. If I had cheered for him, I'm encouraging blood lust. If I had stayed silent, I'm disgusted with him. It's a no win situation, and simple psychology."

"Whoa..." Naruto muttered. "Well... you should have seen the fight anyway, it was amazing!"

"Really?" She questioned. "Do tell."

"Well, at first, Lee couldn't score a hit on him... Gaara doesn't even move, but he's got that sand, right? It protects him on it's own, or so Kankuro says! Thing is, Lee keeps moving faster and faster and--"

"And moves too quickly for the sand to react..." Loor seemed slightly dazed at the thought. "He scored a hit, didn't he?"

"Yeah!" Naruto nodded. "Gaara's probably got a nice bump on the back of his head, believe it!!" He then trailed into his own thoughts for a second. "But..."

"Gaara was..." Loor winced. "He was playing with him, wasn't he? Like a desert cat..." She built the scene in her own mind, the game slowly stepping up as Lee would be forced to show more and more of his skills. "Gaara never operates at full power, but toys with his prey. He puts on a show, going from simple blocking to throwing him around. The sand is the ultimate weapon... and Gaara is forced into stages of insanity. Eventually he feels threatened as he has to use skills he knows but has never had to use, and Lee still doesn't die..."

"How did you--?"

She cut him off. "It's nature... natural, for both of them. I doubt Lee would cut him any slack at all, no mercy... and when they are both at the end of their ropes..." Loor winced. "And Gaara still can't kill him... he settles for hurting him as badly as he can with the one skill that he should have used at the beginning if he wanted to go for the kill."

Loor could see it... the sand that probably encased Lee's left arm and leg, the sand that crushed those limbs.

Naruto stared as she started to walk faster. "Where are you going?" He asked.

She didn't answer. There was one thing that Loor knew about herself more than anything, and that was if she didn't want to cry but was on the verge of tears, she had to avoid talking at all costs. If she spoke...

She would cry, like a weakling.

Now then, the ultimate question would be why Loor felt like crying.

"Loor!" Naruto was chasing her. "Where are you going?" He repeated.

"Leave off!" She snarled at him, stopping and glaring, balling her fists to show she would hurt him if she had to.

He stared at her for several seconds. "What's wrong?" He asked.

She kept her glare for a few more moments, then shook her head, sighing. She didn't want to open her mouth, and kept moving, walking. Of course, Naruto refused to let her go that easy. He moved quickly to keep up with her.

She was slowly getting the point that he wasn't going to give up. "Naruto..." She gave, stopping suddenly and almost making him bump into her. She had to breathe deeply to keep her voice even. "You have to understand... I... don't like to... show weakness..." Her voice shook with her effort. "I... hate to cry... over stupid things... or... anything..."

Naruto cocked his head to the side, lightly putting a hand on her shoulder. "Why not? Everyone cries."

"Not me!" She snapped, throwing her hand off. "And... what happened at that fight... makes me frustrated..."

"Between Gaara and Lee...?" He seemed confused. "Why?"

"It means I'm failing!" She spat, turning and walking again. Naruto, once again, kept up with her. Her emotions had turned to rage, so her fear of crying was gone, she would just scream at people and there was a chance that she'd lash out. "Gaara... I'm trying to help him... and since he followed his past nature in the fight with Lee it means my help has done nothing! And... I can't fail this one..."

"This one?"

"I've helped a lot of people before, Naruto... I've never failed before... I always made things better for them, but Gaara's my ultimate challenge and I can't get through to him because of that fucking demon!"

Naruto jumped slightly. "Demon!?"

Loor suddenly covered her mouth. "Oh, shit!" She swore into her hand. "I didn't say that!"

Naruto thought for a few moments. "I had been wondering... but... that makes sense."

"Huh?" she came out of her panic to look, and saw that Naruto had stopped walking. She did as well, turning to face him. "What makes sense?"

"A demon..." Naruto mused. "Like the fox..."

"Fox?" She was intrigued now.

He was still looking down, and then came up with a serious look that she'd never seen on his face before... it was almost scary. "Can I trust you?" He asked.

"What?"

"Can I trust you?" he questioned again. "Everyone runs away when they know this about me... they leave me to fend for myself and never even look back! I have to know that I can trust you."

She paused, and then nodded. "No one has scared me off before, Naruto." She tried for a smile. "You have my word."

And that's when Naruto told his story.


	43. Haunted Pasts

Okay, I am sorry for the late update… Loor had a party on Friday that got in the way of the normal update, and then she was hanging out with her boyfriend… again. XD

BTW, Loor will be changing her Penname very soon due to the fact that her current one is out of date. I just wanted to give ya'll a heads up on that, and let you know that the new one is LoorTheDarkELf.

**No ownage.**

That's right, only one update this week… because I've been very… busy, yes. Very busy.

Lyra (Randomly pops out of nowhere): Oh, sure, that's what you say when you sneak out to spend time with your boy!

Loor: (Smacks Lyra) Shut up you.

OWTF!!!

**Markings- Chapter Forty Three  
****Haunted Pasts**

_Thirteen years ago, a great demon and threatened the existence of Konoha... Many shinobi died, trying to protect the village... This demon was known as the nine tailed fox, or Kyuubi, and was a monster of horrifying power. The Forth Hokage was among the many who went to fight the demon, and eventually triumphed over the beast... but not in the Kyuubi's death, but in it's imprisonment. _

_The Kyuubi was sealed within a newborn baby whose umbilical cord had just been cut, forced into a tiny prison that could hold it, mostly, with ease. Sadly, the Forth Hokage had to give his life to do this. _

_This baby was Naruto Uzumaki, an orphan that grew up on his own. Those who were around forsook him and old enough to understand what had happened to the demon, and all of them feared either that the fox would take him over or that he simply was the fox now. The Third Hokage, Sarutobi, had come into rule in the event of the Forth's death, and forbade anyone to tell anyone else about the fox on pain of death or worse, for the Forth had the final words of the boy being a hero. Sarutobi wished for Naruto to be regarded as such, but the people's fear, even if not passed by words, went to their children._

_The children feared as their parents did, and also ignored Naruto. Because people were forbidden to tell anyone of the fox Naruto himself did not know what was inside of him. From being left alone, not even noticed, Naruto became a class clown and prankster for any attention he could get, and entered in the ninja program with the goal of becoming Hokage, so that everyone would have to look up to him. _

_Sadly, Naruto had failed several times, trying to graduate from the ninja academy. After failing so many times, an adult shinobi attempted to use his depression to manipulate him. The shinobi told him that there was a scroll that, if you learned a jutsu off of it, that you would automatically graduate. The one problem would be that he would have to steal it._

_The truth was this was a forbidden scroll that had powerful jutsu. The shinobi wanted it for his own gain, and could simply say he had disposed of Naruto out of self-defense. What the shinobi didn't count on was Iruka, Naruto's teacher and only friend, coming to protect him. _

_The shinobi tried to make Naruto think that Iruka hated him, since Iruka had been orphaned when the Kyuubi killed his parents. Through this, the shinobi told everything about the fox to Naruto, including whom it was sealed inside. _

_Eventually, Naruto beat the shinobi in protecting Iruka from him, using the jutsu he had learned out of the scroll; shadow clones; solid copies of oneself. _

_Several hundred copies of oneself in some cases... _

_Naruto graduated that night, and got to wear the Konoha headband for the first time. _

* * *

Loor had been pondering the story that Naruto had told her on the way to her training grounds. No, she wasn't frightened of him. She was rather intrigued, which made him happy. On the other hand, her first words when he finished the story were 'God! Is there anyone in this town that _doesn't _have a demon?' 

Still, her pondering was based on the differences between Naruto and Gaara. Naruto talked about times before when he had partially or fully blacked out... probably times that the Kyuubi had taken over when he was particularly enraged or protecting his friends. He had even talked about that, while training with Jariya, he'd be learning how to use the Kyuubi's chakra (apparently there's a great deal that the fox has) for his own jutsu. Gaara had similar holes in his memory, but he knew what happened in those holes... sorta. Shukaku had cut lose and killed someone.

The main difference was that the Kyuubi was sealed... Shukaku wasn't. Someone... no, not just someone, the Forth Hokage had given his life to properly seal away the Kyuubi so that such torture would not come upon it's host. Not nearly as much care had been taken in Gaara's case. Gaara's father... the Kazekage, someone just as powerful as a Hokage, had simply attached Shukaku to his youngest son in the attempt to make a weapon out of him.

It was a difference between love and malice. The Forth had loved Konoha that much to save it in such a manner, since no one could kill the fox. The Kazekage... he wanted power... he cared nothing for his own unborn. And what of Naruto? People were supposed to think him a hero! And he was a hero! And Gaara? His own father was still trying to have him killed.

She suddenly wanted to hug the red headed sand worm again... it sounded like he needed it.

She had arrived at her new training grounds again, the place with the river, and let out a happy sigh as she started looking around the area. Her first job was to fashion herself a new practice weapon, since her current one was cracked right up the middle. She placed the broken one in the river; the current would carry it to some animal or another that would make use of it.

It was past sunset, so it was almost pure dark as she went into the trees again, looking for green branches that were correct for her purpose. It was almost impossible to do such a thing, since the last one had felt uncomfortable anyway. She wanted the one at home, but it was rather obvious that she couldn't go get it.

Walking through the area, she had glanced up for one second and bumped into something. She swore quietly, backing off and looking. It wasn't hard enough to be a tree...

"Evening."

Nope, it was her usual night visitor.

"Feeling any better?" She asked, referring to the cold he had the last time she saw him.

"Quite." He returned.

"Good to hear." She snickered. "I can't see you too well..." She reached out slightly, feeling as her fingertips contacted his face. He turned to her hand, and she gently palmed his cheek, stepping closer to him before using her other hand on his face, as if she were making sure she was talking to the actual Gaara and not someone who was trying to mess with her.

The truth was that she knew the odd smile he got while she did this, and rather enjoyed it.

"What are you doing out here?" He asked after a moment, lowering his head under her hands.

"The usual..." She muttered, watching as he went submissive quickly. How could a person like the human touch this much? When one never knew it? Once again, she found herself fascinated and curious, forgetting the frustration and anger that had been attached to the details of the beating Lee got. "And you?"

"Looking for you." He said, rather blunt.

She laughed, moving a hand into his hair for a moment before hugging him around the neck again. He was a little faster to hug her back, and now that there was no one to walk upon the scene he was most reluctant to let go. When she tried to pull away, and he wouldn't let her, she started to laugh again.

"Gaara...?" She finally inquired.

"You're..." He stalled, as if he didn't know the right word. "Warm."

"And you're acting like a kid." She snickered to show that her comment was in humor, finally managing to ease his hands off of her. "Though... according to what you've gone through, it's perfectly understandable."

"Hm...?" He was confused of how lightly she treated his predicament and personality.

She shook her head, still smiling, and began to move again. "Walk with me, Gaara."

Slowly, he followed. He wasn't sure why. Perhaps curiosity, or she was the only person who had ever claimed to wanting to be his friend... or maybe he respected her for facing Shukaku with so little fear. He didn't know.

He just listened.

"Gaara... I can't say I understand where you've been... but I do know that you've been through horrible things. It's stuff that's obvious to the trained eye... things that I can see very well, that you've been hurt by family and strangers, maybe even someone you considered a potential friend who slammed a door in your face. Those things, I can see. Usually, seeing such stuff in a person makes me want to help them with blatant methods of trial and error, but, obviously, your case was different... so different that trial and error would have gotten me killed. It's hard to help someone when you're dead."

"You could tell... that my family hurt me?"

"Yeah, before you told me." She looked at him. "There are various signs of emotional trauma, including the fact that your thought pattern, no offense, doesn't go far past the capacity of a four year old. Such a thing shows abuse, usually from the family, and more likely, isolation. You were left alone and a young age, and were never able to develop. Of course this falls under the action your father took in your younger years, constantly trying to kill you." She glanced back, as if making sure he understood.

Slowly, he nodded for her to go on.

"Alright, so let's take it down the list." Once again, she put on the imaginary glasses and held the invisible checklist. "You have issues trusting people, which means you got close to someone and they told you something, and then informed you later on that what they said was not only a lie, they told you something else you really didn't wanna hear. This would go along with your uncle, Yashamaru... it's a feeling a betrayal that most kids have issues letting go. At such a young age it becomes hardwired in your brain that you can't trust anyone..."

"I can trust you."

She glanced at him, surprised. It was the way he said it, again. He said it quickly, not his usual slow and thought out manner. She stared, and then smirked. "And that adds to it. Most people who go through betrayal tend to lie and betray themselves... though there are others who will go to great lengths to make sure there are no misunderstandings... and speak quickly to disprove a non-truth."

He nodded. "Is there... anything else?"

"Right," She went on, looking forward again, "Moving on is your inherent anger from the lack of a female figure in your life. With only the male left, a human is more encouraged to be violent than to be diplomatic... so the story I have so far is that you had a fucked up childhood where your father has been trying to kill you, isolating you, your city and anyone who could have been friend ignoring you and telling you to get lost when you tried to bridge the gap, and finally someone close to you betrayed your trust, and then told you a lot of things you didn't want to hear. Plus, you probably never knew your mother." She then sighed. "And on top of all that, is the Shukaku."

"Right..." He slowly sighed, as if he couldn't think of what to say to her besides that. There wasn't anything she could add... and she had put it in a rather blunt manner.

There was a long silence as they kept walking, and Loor kept looking about restlessly. It was several moments later that he almost jumped when she suddenly dashed ahead. He said nothing, but stopped to go into a tense stance.

She laughed from up ahead. "Take it easy, Gaara. I can feel your chakra build from here. Nothing to be afraid of, I just found the perfect branch. No I just have to..." She trailed off, grunting in effort, and he heard the sound of a branch breaking off of the tree. "Oh, there we go! Not as hard as it looked..."

"Loor?" He asked as she returned with a long green branch in her hand.

"Eh?" She raised an eyebrow, leading the way back in the direction of the clearing and the river, already memorizing the woods so she would be able to know landmarks and such, be able to find this place again.

He spoke slowly, as if he had to think about his words more than usual. "You... said you wanted to help me... right?"

"That's right." She answered, nodding, not looking back because she knew he was following.

"Then... why...?" He paused. She stopped at the edge of the clearing, looking back at him, to find him clutching his own chest.

Clutching his heart.

"Help... isn't it supposed to make pain go away?"

Slowly, Loor put down the branch that she had taken and came back to him, putting a hand over his. "Things get worse before they get better, Gaara... The reason a person ceases to develop when they experience emotional trauma is because they refuse to let themselves feel anything whether it be good or bad... not feeling doesn't provoke any growth. Confusing a person is a way to get them to lower an emotional wall... and pain will always be the first thing they have to deal with."

She offered a smile as he looked up at her. He was so... vulnerable.

She saw herself for a second, and she gripped his hand. "Pain is something everyone has to deal with... sometimes every day. The whole point is... to take good with the bad, and the worst of it will stop... all in due time."

"A wounded heart..." He muttered. "Did Yashamaru tell me the truth about that?"

"What did he tell you?"

"That the only cure for it... was love."

"One step at a time, Gaara." She snickered. "I'd say you don't have much of a capacity for love right now, but we'll handle it in stages."

"...we?"

"Of course. You think I'd just point out everything and then leave you stranded and exposed? No, I'm your friend now, and that means I'll stand by you, no matter what. Whenever you're hurting, day or night, you can come to me, and I'll do my very best to make it go away."

He looked down at her hand over his, on his chest, on his heart. He stared, confused, almost. "My friend...? No one has ever..."

"Well, it's time for that to change, Gaara. I believe that you have a nice person hiding in there, somewhere. Sure, you need to mature him a little bit, but it will all happen in time." She pulled him into a hug. "Now that I'm around... I'll make sure of it."

"How?"

"Various ways..." She snickered as he lifted his other arm to return her hug. "And I have to say that you're already coming along nicely... seeing on how well you've picked up the hugging business. The fact that you still have curiosity will really be what saves you... some people have gone beyond the point of curiosity, and someone has to give them something to be curious about before they do anything."

"Like you did to me..." He muttered.

"How did I do that?" She asked sarcastically, pulling away from him and turning back into the clearing, grabbing the branch she had put down and sitting near the water, stripping away the bark by hand. "Oh yeah, I wasn't scared of you... simply because I happened to be fascinated myself."

"How did you know so quickly?" He asked, following again and sitting across form her. "It was like my pain was on my face for you to see when we met."

There was silence. It would seem that she almost didn't want to answer him, and the silence was allowed to continue till her new stave was half skun.

"You tend to know what pain looks like when you've gone through it." She finally said. "I may not quite know it the way you do Gaara, but I was ignored when I was little... kids thought I was just weird, and gave me my space. For those who screwed with me... well, some of them turned up with broken bones. I was used to it, and I could have gone that way for the rest of my life to be honest... but something stopped me... Or someone."

He was catching on. "Your little sister?"

"Yeah... Fury." Loor nodded. "She was... interesting. I had lashed out at her like I had everyone else, but she didn't run away screaming like the rest. She sat by me, and eventually we became friends. Now, we're inseparable."

He nodded, going quiet again. She had finished with skinning the branch and was pulling loose twigs and leaves off of it as he finally came up with his next point of all-important curiosity.

"So... what do friends do?"

"They're there for each other when they need to be." Loor was quick to say. "A true friend will protect someone close to them no matter what, regardless to the odds or people who are against them. It's kinda funny with me... I don't make new friends... I just start talking to a person, till eventually I pretty much fall in love with them."

There was that damn word again. "Fall in love...?" he questioned.

"Yes." She smiled at him. "Though that love is a family love. I don't make friends... I adopt people. Fury's my little sister, Naruto's my big brother, and I'll find a place in the family for Sakura, Sasuke, Kakashi, and Lee eventually. I love a lot of people, though I'll deny it to myself. I always believe that my emotions make me weak, but the truth is that they make me very strong... if anyone ever threatens my friends, I feel so powerful... no, it's not just feeling... I know I'm powerful."

"So... what am I to you?"

"Right now... Gaara, it's too early for me to tell. You've only just let me into your head. It's not for me to decide on what I am to you, anyway. _You_ decide where our relationship stands, where it is best for you. When you've fallen in love with me, you'll know."

She watched as he sank back into his thoughts, and started finishing off her new practice weapon, breaking it to the correct length and then washing it and her hands in the river. She didn't expect him to talk to her again; he was naturally a creature of few words. He had probably spoken to her more in the last month than he spoke to everyone else he knew in the past year.

That's why his next words startled her.

"To fight for someone other than yourself... it is foolish..."

She had been doing basic exercises with her stave, and glanced back. "What?"

"Fighting for someone other than yourself makes you weak..." He hissed. "Let the weak die, and only the strong survive on their own."

He didn't expect her reaction.

Loor started to laugh. Yes, she started to laugh, sputter, and eventually sit down from her sides hurting. "Oh! That is a good one coming from you!! Let the weak die and the strong survive on their own! Sure!"

Her laughter was brought to a quick close as she felt something solid clamp around her middle. She knew the sand by now, and she was yanked over to where he was still sitting so he wouldn't have to move. She went from several feet away and laughing to a steady silence while mere inches from his face. "Explain." He demanded.

She smirked. "Gladly. Without Shukaku, with that motto, you would have been dead long ago. Of course, the raccoon only protects you because he needs you to live, but that symbiotic relationship, or maybe even parasitic relationship, you are made strong. Without him you would be a normal human, and would have had to fight for every day like the rest of us." Her voice had turned harsh. "Without Shukaku, you wouldn't be able to hold me as you are now, wouldn't have been able to threaten all the people with death that you have, or even handed out the beating you did to Lee during the first part of the chunnins."

Yes, she had just attacked him.

He blinked once, then twice. The sand began to squeeze at her newly healed ribs, a threat. "Are you calling me weak?" It was a loaded question.

She grinned at the threat. "Yes, I am! We all fight for something, Gaara... which is the reason you're about to crush my ribs. If you kill me, you lose."

"What...?" He questioned, wide eyed.

"Killing me may remove a thorn in your side, yes." She smirked. "But isn't the Shukaku just using you to protect himself? That's why you have that power, isn't it? So you can get rid of anyone who annoys you, so you can't ever even learn to think!"

He continued to stare at her, not sure of what to say. His lips moved slightly, as if to form a word, but words were never his thing.

"That..." She dared to push harder. "Makes you weaker every time you kill in the name of blood lust or annoyance... because you were killing for him."

Two seconds later, he had released her. Now then, don't think Loor got off free after bashing him like that.

No, she was dropped in the river, right where the water got deep.

Good thing that Loor, unlike Shukaku, loved to swim.


	44. Beginners Luck

Alrighty then….

**I'M SORRY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**

The update is late, and I'm sorry. There is some good news though; there are four chapters for your enjoyment, so enjoy them! Or else….

**No ownage.**

OWTF!!!

**Markings- Chapter Forty Four  
****Beginner's Luck**

Fury had been looking forward to today.

Why? That's a question many people would ask, and it has a few simple answers. The number one reason was that today was the day Kiba was coming off of bed rest. Kurenai had demanded that he take a few more days of rest once he was out of the hospital after the chunnins, and as disgruntled as the dog was, Fury made sure Kiba followed Kurenai's word to a T with the constant 'I don't want you getting sick!' in a worried tone that seemed to get him every time. There were other reasons too, of course. This was Loor's first full day out of the hospital, and it sounded like Lee was going to get to start physical therapy today, so the girls, and Kiba, were gonna make a day of visiting the boy and giving well wishes.

Fury, in the free time that she and Kiba had together, had collaborated on a get-well card. Of course, Kiba's only mark on it was giving Fury the supplies and, after some argument, a messy signature. Fury had neat writing, and Akamaru made his mark by knocking over the ink well for the pen Fury had been using, dipping his paw in it, and walking on the card a couple of times while boy and girl attempted to pin the dog down.

The card was certainly... unique.

Y'know, between being ripped, messy, and having six complete dog prints on it and at least twelve incomplete ones. Still, it was legible, and Kiba insisted that it was okay. All they needed to do now was get Loor so sign it and then drag the girl away from her self-training long enough for a quick visit.

Fury had a slight sense that something was up when they made it to where Loor was staying, Lee's apartment.

"The door is open..." Fury muttered, cocking her head to one side, having tested the handle before knocking. Kiba seemed curious too, Akamaru sitting in the usual spot in Kiba's hood.

"Open?" Kiba lightly pushed Fury to the side, testing the handle to the door himself to find it unlocked, the door itself slightly cracked open. "Whoa..."

Fury, at once, expected the worst. "Oh no!" She yelped, shoving the door open to quickly enter the house unbidden. Kiba followed as Fury glanced around wildly, not finding Loor anywhere in the main room.

Kiba grabbed her as she started to panic.

"Where is she??" The girl whined.

"Easy..." Kiba laughed quietly. "There is a bedroom... she could be in there."

Fury suddenly froze, and then sighed. "You could have suggested that before I started screaming... I could have woken her up..."

He snickered, patting her back. "C'mon." He said, going to the bedroom door and finding it open like the front door. Pushing it open, he waited for Fury to go first...

"She's not..." Fury muttered, seeing the empty bed. "She's not here."

Kiba was about to say something, but was cut off by the sound of retching a room over.

"Found her..." Kiba muttered, sniffing hesitantly. "Gods, she got herself real sick this time."

Fury dashed out of the bedroom and over to the bathroom, knocking on it frantically. "_Onee-san?! Onee-san, _are you okay???" It was the one door in the apartment that was locked.

On the other side of the door, someone spat before speaking. "Just dandy, _Imoto-chan..._" Loor could be heard. "Y'know, I'm just so happy I barf up rainbows!"

Fury whimpered. "Sorry!"

"It's fine... I'll be out in a second..."

Fury started bouncing on the spot, waiting and restless till the toilet in the bathroom flushed and Loor emerged, wiping her mouth, wearing only her sports bra and underwear. She played her sick self till she caught sight of Kiba, where she at once stood straight and acted like nothing was wrong. "Heh... sorry, ate something last night that didn't agree with me."

Fury at once came close and stuck her hand on Loor's forehead. "Loor, you're burning up!!"

Kiba came closer, sniffing the air. "That's a bit past that cold you had, Blondie... maybe a case of the flu or somethin'... you sure you don't wanna go back to the doctors?"

Loor snorted, yanking her head back from Fury. "I'll be fine, and I'm going to the hospital anyway to visit Lee. Besides that, I doubt any of those nurses want to see me at all..."

"You doubt?" Kiba shook his head. "I'd say it's a sure thing that those nurses could go the rest of their lives without seeing you and die happy!"

"Scruffy," Loor growled. "Shut up, or I'll come over there and throw up on you."

"Loor!" Fury yelped, whimpering.

Loor looked at her little sister, looking ready to throw out some barbed words, but she paused. Something on Fury's person caught her eye, and Loor reached a hand out to inspect something. At first, Fury shrank away, but Loor moved quickly to grab something that was around Fury's neck.

The necklace that Kiba had given her. Fury felt herself go red as Loor inspected the pendant that was one of Akamaru's baby fangs, looking upon it from all directions, before smirking.

"Looks like Loor's little _Imoto-chan _is growing up..." Loor gave, letting go of the necklace, looking at Kiba. "You must be nicer than I thought, Scruffy."

With that, Loor walked into the bedroom to go find her pants, leaving Fury and Kiba in dumbfounded silence. Loor even shut the door, as if giving them privacy to scrutinize her words, which they did.

"Nicer than she thought...?" Fury asked slowly, looking back at Kiba. "She must be really sick..."

"Yeah..." Kiba agreed slowly. "Or I just got your big sister's blessing."

"You did!" Came Loor's voice from the other side of the door. "Enjoy it before I change my mind!"

Fury squealed, turning around and glomping Kiba, who caught her, chuckling lightly at her behavior. He lightly patted her back, snickering as Loor came out wearing pants and shrugging her coat on.

"C'mon, love birds..." Loor sighed, slipping on her shoes. "And keep the sap away from me... and the fluff for that matter."

"Sap? Fluff?" Kiba didn't understand the terms.

"Author terms." Fury explained, quickly following Loor, Kiba falling in line. "Sap, like sappy romance, the dramatic stuff that always has a happy ending, and then fluff is fluffy romance that's happy to begin with and goes into zany humor and a sweet ending."

"Oh..." Kiba said this like he understood.

* * *

One could call the visit to the hospital short and bittersweet. Bitter because Loor had to barf again the second they got there, and the nurses were giving the whole trio death glares (apparently Kiba hadn't been too good to the nurses either during his short stay right after the first part of the chunnin exams) and sweet because Lee was awake when they got to his room. 

Even better, he was sitting up on his own.

"Hey!" Fury was the first to greet, also first in the room, waving as Lee's attention came away from the morning light coming in through his window and to the visitors in his room. He tried to wave back with the left hand, but it wouldn't respond, so he had to wave with his right. His smile was still lopsided, but not as much as it had been.

"Hello Fury." Lee greeted, his voice also stronger. He leaned forward in his bed to see Kiba coming in after Fury. "And Kiba too... thank you for coming to see me."

"Your welcome!" Fury beamed while Kiba took the card out from under his coat, handing it to Fury, who handed it to Lee. Slowly, the boy took it, taking a slight smile at the colorful floral cover. When he flipped it open, the smile grew. "I see the whole trio signed it." He gave, looking up. "I forgot to thank Akamaru."

The dog on Kiba's back yipped, wagging his tail with a puppy's smile. The three humans in the room laughed, but that's when Fury noticed something.

"Wait... where did Loor go?"

"Loor came too?" Lee asked, looking hopeful.

"She was just behind us..." Fury muttered, turning around and opening the door again. "Loor?" Fury inquired into the empty hall.

A few second later, the missing blond came around the corner, jogging to the room. "Sorry! Had to go to the bathroom."

Fury sighed. "Do you have anything left in your stomach?"

"Not anymore." Loor shrugged, trying to laugh and letting herself into Lee's room, past Fury.

"Loor..." Lee did his best to get the left half of his face to pick up, but it didn't work. "You made it."

"I told you I'd come, Lee." Loor returned, walking up and sitting on the end of his bed. "A shinobi never goes back on their word... right?"

"No offense, Loor, but you look worse than me."

She shrugged it off. "I'll live."

Fury stepped in. "Which means she's going back to bed right after we leave."

Loor laughed lightly, looking up at Fury. "Oh, who's taking care of who now?"

Kiba snorted, hugging Fury from behind. "She has a point Loor. Where did you get so sick? You were fine yesterday."

"Just a bug I picked up outside." Loor waved it off. "A good day of rest and I'll be good as new."

Lee nodded. "Just one thing, Loor." He gave.

"Eh?" Loor raised an eyebrow, turning to him. "What?"

"Your leg weights."

"What about them?" Loor questioned.

"You are not well." Lee returned, leaning forward in bed and sizing one of Loor's legs with his right hand, yanking it up onto his bed and pushing the pant leg up. "You should not wear them. You should not have been wearing them when you were still in with broken ribs."

She tried to yank her leg away from him, but he had more than enough strength left in his good arm to keep a hold on her. He waited, letting the sick person in the room get tired before motioning Fury and Kiba over to hold Loor's foot while he used his good hand to unclip the weights. Loor complied for the other leg without having to be held. In a few moments, she was one hundred and twenty pounds lighter... and just a little sulky.

"I will hold on to them." Lee gave, a smug smile in place as his student got up.

"Yeah, yeah..." She muttered.

"Where did you get sick?" Fury asked, still curious.

"None of your business."

Kiba snickered, hugging Fury again, Akamaru crawling out of his hood and into her arms. "That means it has something to do with the sand worm, right?"

Loor, who was half way out of the room, managed enough strength to grab the wooden chair near the door and throw it at the couple. Thankfully, Kiba saw it coming and let go of Fury in time to catch it and put it back down on the floor.

Fury giggled. "To borrow a line from _Onee-san..._ We'll take that as a yes."

Lee sighed, shaking his head. "She does not have much of a hold on her emotions... does she?"

"Never did." Fury agreed. "But she'll do the right thing sooner or later. Loor has great judgment... usually."

Kiba snorted. "That might explain why she didn't like me then." He gave a bad-boy grin. "Probably could smell the trouble on me from miles away!"

Fury giggled lightly, cuffing Kiba in the shoulder. The visit soon ended after that.

It was time to get back to training.

* * *

"Okay!" Kurenai smiled. Fury was about to take part in a team exercise with Kiba's team... and by team I mean two teams, boys verses girls. Kurenai thought it would be fair for her to pair up with Fury and take the boys on. It was odd, seeing as both teams had one cocky person; Kurenai and Kiba, and one stoic and slightly quiet person; Fury and Shino. In all honesty, Fury was filling in for Hinata, who was still in the hospital, recovering from the beating her cousin Neji gave her. 

And the exercise?

Capture the flag with ninja tools. It was meant to train for situations where one may happen to be confined or somehow paralyzed from the knees down. Each player had a box drawn around his or her feet with loose sticks. If they set their feet outside the box, they lost. Twenty feet behind the boys was a blue flag strung tight between two sticks, and a red flag the same distance behind the girls. The point was that, without putting your feet outside your box, to somehow slice the flag in half before the other team managed to slice yours.

Fury shifted a little in her spot, still getting used to the adaptation to her outfit that had been given to her by Kurenai.

A shiny black weapons pouch, which had shiny, sharp, silver weapons inside. Throwing stars known as shurikin, throwing knives known as kunai, and little needles that looked like they could be used for acupuncture called sinbons. Kurenai called it the sampler's pack, to find out what Fury aimed best with. Before the exercise she had also been taught _how_ to throw them all properly.

And now... she stood in a little square, aware that Kiba and Shino both had years of practice over her, not to mention that even if Akamaru had been taken out of this competition, it was impossible to remove Shino's bug control ability from the exercise. Kurenai looked ready, but Fury's mind was pessimistically calculating. Ten feet between each player, making a ten-foot by ten-foot box between all of them, thirty feet to the flag, and Kiba was right across from her. What if she missed and hit him, or Shino?!

Scary.

Akamaru, the intelligent little creature, was playing ref by sitting in the center. He barked once, and Kiba translated.

"Ready?" Dog-boy inquired.

"Hai!" Fury gave enthusiastically, even if her stomach was sick, her right hand hovering over the new pouch on her right leg.

"Let's do it." Kurenai agreed.

Kiba's gaze shifted to Shino, who slowly nodded, not saying a word.

Akamaru yipped several times, the signal for start, while running out of the square. At once, Kiba yanked two kunai out of his own leg pouch, throwing them at the same time Kurenai threw four shurikin. The shurikin threw the kunai off course, and one of them managed to get through untouched, nicking the top of the boy's flag.

Fury held still, all too nervous. Kiba's weapons had struck the ground, one foot from her feet. Sure that seemed like plenty of distance, but those were sharp weapons. One foot felt like one inch. Keeping her feet in her box sounded pretty hard all of the sudden.

Fury kept glancing between Kurenai and Kiba, who stalled. Kiba was ripping to go, but Kurenai was sure to block him again, and they all only had so many weapons in their pouches to throw.

Fury decided to give it a shot, reaching into her pouch and pulling out the first thing her fingers landed on...

Drawing out two of the four shurikin in the pouch.

Fury threw them quickly, and the two little stars span through the air. There was a chance that they might have hit their target too, if not for the fact that Kiba threw a kunai knife, his third out of the four he probably had, to knock them off course...

While another kunai sang through the air towards the boy's flag, having just been thrown by Kurenai. Fury gave a victory squeal, hopping up in her spot, but her victory was celebrated too soon.

Shino turned quickly towards the flying knife, flicking a hand up. The gesture wasn't much, not even a jutsu, but a signal.

Fury's victory turned to slight horror. She had never seen Shino's buzzing companions before, nor had she seen so many bugs at once before. She had been told about it before, the fact that Shino's family, the Aburame family, had actual bugs living _inside_ of them, trading control and obedience for nesting and shelter, but she was yet to see the little black flying beetles in action.

There had to be at least a hundred of them, a small army, camped out at the base of the boys flag. When Shino flicked his hand up as a signal, all of them flew up, not to completely deflect the knife but at least push it up to once again only nick the top of the flag, not slice it in half.

Once this show had been put on, Shino turned his head to Fury, who had yelped. "Do bugs frighten you?" He asked, probably one of the few times anyone would ever hear Shino's soft voice.

"I've never seen that many at once before!" Fury cried in defense.

"Don't be freaked so easy, Fury." Kiba suggested. "Shino has always been creepy, but he's got a couple thousand bugs hiding in there, and more eggs than you wanna think about."

"R-right..." Fury nodded. "Back to the game!"

Kurenai nodded, and all four players got ready again.

Kiba was grinning for some reason though, and Fury didn't like it. The face he was making said that the boys had already won. While Kurenai engaged in another staring contest with the boys, Fury started to look about herself in question. What were they planning...?

Eventually, Fury looked at the girl's red flag, and yelped. Had she known about it, she would have thought about it so much earlier. Shino's bugs were a perfect weapon in this game, really. Looking back, one would see a trail of Shino's bugs up one of the poles for their flag, crawling across the top to the center, and slowly eating a slit down the middle. When a bug got full, it dropped off and another one took over. Because of the grass, no one had seen them crawling to it.

And there was no way to stop them. Throw a knife at the flag and they'd shatter it themselves and lose. The flag was half eaten, and it had only been two minuets. It was a ticking time bomb, the only way to go would be to destroy the boys flag before their's was gone!

Fury's mind was about to go to planning, but she felt something crawling up her leg.

Looking down, it would seem that a line of Shino's bugs had started making their way up her ankle as Kiba and Kurenai exchanged another round of blades, another nick being taken out of the boys flag. Of course Fury started yelping again, shaking her leg wildly, making both Kurenai and Kiba look over as she started doing a strange little dance to try and not fall out of her square.

The key word would be to try. She started flailing around, and the foot that she was hopping on got right to the edge of her square before she started kicking back and forth...

Fury didn't notice as she fell down, but her toes had caught one of the knives that had landed so close to her box before, flipping it up high into the air. Kiba didn't see it either, but Kurenai did. Fury was out, landing on her back far outside of her box, but Kurenai was still in the game, and she drew one of her kunai knives, watching as the knife Fury kicked flipped in the air, the point aiming down again.

Kiba and Shino glanced over as Kurenai threw her own knife in a high arc. It knocked into the that was already in the air, and everyone watched as Kurenai's knife came down near the players, but the one Fury had kicked kept going...

To fall point down, slicing through the blue flag before landing hard in the ground.

"Does that still count?" Fury questioned.

For a second, everyone still stared at the winning knife in amazement, including Kurenai. A few seconds later, Kiba turned to Fury and grinned. "We'll call it a tie based on beginner's luck."


	45. Fury's Aunt Flow

Two of four. I suggest that any boys who read this (if any) take caution about this chapter... and don't kill me for bringing this subject to the table. I tend to rate my fiction **R for Reality.**

**No ownage.**

OWTF!!!

**Markings-Chapter Forty Five  
****Fury's Aunt Flow**

"Hey, Fury, are you okay?"

This would be a normal question to ask our brown and silver haired friend. She just won a game on pure luck, and yet she was still lying on the ground instead of doing the victory dance. Why?

"It's..." Fury trailed, looking up at Kiba, who had asked the question. "I'm... fine... really."

Any one else smell bullshit?

Well, that would be the case, seeing as Fury was holding her stomach for a reason. Shortly after the game was over, she started to experience some serious stomach pain. This wasn't the nice normal stuff that happens when you happened to eat a little too much cheese or drink too much milk and end up gassy later, these were big league pains that felt like someone decided to make a voodoo doll of her and start shanking it.

That would be very mean, and kinda cool, but not the case.

"C'mon then, get up." Kiba gave, offering a hand. "We'll go hit Ichiraku's."

Fury took his hand, getting up and nodding, still holding her stomach like a pregnant woman who had just taken a nasty fall. She didn't really want to get up, she wanted to lie on the ground in the fetal position for the rest of the day. Still, she just hid away her wince from getting up, pushed the hand of comfort to her side, and the two began to walk as Akamaru scaled Kiba's side with ease, settling into his owner's hood for what looked like a puppy power nap.

"Fury... are you sure you okay? Did me or Kurenai get you with one of the weapons?" Kiba asked, worried, as they walked away from the training ground, Kiba having already picked up his kunai knives.

"I'm okay." Fury answered, checking herself over quickly to make sure she didn't have any scratches or anything. Still, she knew she didn't get hit, and it was just a stomachache. She was probably hungry from not eating much at breakfast, nothing big.

Still, the pain she was feeling was a little _too_ nasty to be hunger pain. In the back of her mind, she pondered it.

"If you say so..." Kiba muttered, putting his hands behind his head and relaxing slightly. "Man, when I saw that kunai go up, I would have never guessed it would win the game!"

"It was pretty cool, but it wasn't like I was aiming or anything." Fury giggled, shrugging. "Does Shino always use his bugs during that exercise?"

"Yeah, we're pretty used to him." Kiba snickered. "I guess me and Kurenai never thought to warn you..."

"I just didn't like the feeling of a bug crawling up my leg... that was kinda mean."

"When you're in a fight, you really don't care what's mean and what's not. The whole concept is mean." Kiba shrugged. "I love the whole ninja program because it's all about what I know best, survival of the fittest! Its not that if ya get lost you get left, because we work on teams to make sure the weak become strong, but you have to be strong if you want to do anything or get anywhere."

"So it's all about fighting..." Fury seemed a little dejected at this fact.

"At this stage, yeah." He shrugged, casting an arm around her shoulders. "As we get older, we get less clumsy and learn more about stealth. Better to live today and fight tomorrow, right?"

"Right."

There was a pause in the conversation, and Fury moved closer to him, nuzzling. Just walking with him made her pessimistic mind start working though. Not much longer... and Loor would start pushing to go home. Just that thought going through her brain made her want to show some abnormal aggression and punch someone in the face. She didn't want to go home... ever. Sure she missed her mom.. and maybe her step dad a little bit, and her cats of course, but this place was so... amazing. Even the thought of growing up to be a ninja was incredible and very appealing.

Home... was boring. And cold. Never before at home had she felt the warmth she got just from snuggling close to Kiba and walking down a street. It was better than anything, and it got better every day they spent together. They talked, practiced, ate, and even slept together. Heck, the same bed! She'd come to be attached to falling asleep with Akamaru nuzzled up under her neck and Kiba's arms around her middle. She knew she was young, too young to call it love, but she certainly did like him. Maybe, if it was given time, it could become love. Maybe... in a few years.

Odd... how the thought of home now seemed to be a distant fairy tale. Right now, Konoha seemed much more real than the place called Kingston Minnesota, where it was unaffected by the war and people who wanted to fight were carted off to forts states away from their families to train. Compared to Konohagure, Kingston sounded like the story that would be told at a child's bed side that they would hear again years later without all the sugar coating, meaning adding in all the other parts of drug abuse and how much high school sucked.

She almost couldn't believe that her own home existed. She had been so quick to accept this place... because it was in front of her. She was breathing Konoha air, seeing Konoha buildings, and walking on Konoha streets... and leaning against a Konoha shinobi, nuzzling into his coat while returning the arm around her shoulder to put an arm around his middle.

"Fury-chan!"

The couple slowed and stopped, turning back to see a particular silver haired male running up, waving.

"Oh, Kabuto!" Fury greeted, slipping away, out of Kiba's grip. "I haven't seen you since the chunnins started! Where have ya been?"

"Getting reamed by my sensei for withdrawing..." Kabuto replied, coming to a stop out of Kiba's killing range, chuckling nervously and scratching the back of his head, embarrassed. "I knew it was my eighth time and all... but when they announced the preliminary round being one on one combat, and right after the Forest of Death, I just couldn't do it."

"Don't be down!" Fury scolded. "I'm sure you'll get it next time. You did your best and pulled out when you knew it was pointless."

Kabuto gave a slight smile, nodding and pushing his glasses back up on his nose, as they had fallen a little when he was running. He then glanced at Kiba. "I didn't stay for the fights. How'd it go for you?"

Kiba gave a growl. "I lost... but it was close."

"I'm sure it was." Kabuto almost gave an oily smirk, but held it back. Instead, he went back to his bright and cheery posture, looking at Fury, who didn't seem to notice the small mental brawl that was going on between the males. "Maybe, if you enter next time, I can go against you."

Fury shook her head. "I wish, but it doesn't look that hopeful that I'll be staying in Konoha, much less continue training."

He looked surprised. "Really?" He questioned. "That's no good..."

"Yeah... well..." Fury growled. "I guess my sister is a little homesick..."

"Oh, yeah, your sister! I heard about what happened to her..." Kabuto lowered his voice. "I mean... the mark..."

"How did you hear about that?!" Fury yelped. "I thought Kakashi and Kurenai and them weren't gonna tell no one??"

Kabuto laughed slightly. "I happen to have family among the medic nin in the village. I hear about everything that happens in that hospital."

"Then how come you managed not to hear about the results of my fight?" Kiba snapped, walking up and hugging Fury from behind, seeming a little possessive, and more than a little suspicious of Kabuto. Fury gave a look to Kiba, since he was being kinda rude.

Kabuto gave the oily smirk that he had been holding back before to Kiba. "Oh, I had heard it, but I was just seeing if you would admit your own defeat or deny it. Odd to think that the village idiot managed to beat you. I've heard that Naruto is rather pathetic, and thanks to you he'll be moving on to the finals and proving how pathetic he is against a much better nin would will probably kill him, or at least get close."

"What?!" Kiba snapped. "Well at least I didn't withdraw like some coward I've been seeing just a little too often lately!"

"What, think you can take me, animal man?"

"What did you call me?!"

"Oh, sorry, I meant animal _boy."_

Fury had been glancing back and forth during this exchange. Usually, it would be with growing fear that fists would be thrown, but at the moment it was with growing annoyance. Were boys always like this?! She growled, pushing Kiba off and standing between then, suddenly taking on a lot more presence than she usually did. "Would you two _shut up?!" _

Both boys, who knew her meek personality, stared dumbly.

"Kabuto," She scolded, "What is wrong with you? You're being really rude!" She then turned upon Kiba. "And you're snapping at every bit of mud he slings at you! God, I'm beginning to get why Loor hates boys!"

And then she stormed off, stomping down the street, leaving the boys in shocked silence.

"Was that your fault or mine?" Kabuto asked.

"I think its shared blame..." Kiba muttered. "...I think..."

* * *

Fury had no idea why she did that. The second she got around the corner, she questioned it in her brain, and then rushed up to Kiba when he came to follow her, apologizing for being mean, harsh, rude, and any other label one could put on her behavior back there. Of course, Kiba only gave her a light flick on the nose as a joke, since that's usually what one did to a dog that had misbehaved, and they went on their merry way to lunch. 

Lunch went fine, since you just can't go wrong with ramen. Still, Kiba found himself being cautious. Fury was displaying mood swings. What was going on? First, she didn't seem too well right after training, and now mood swings. A armature diagnosis would say...

He shook his head while slurping his noodles. Even if it was... _that, _he had no right asking if that was the case. If it was, she was female, and would be fully capable of handling the things she needed to handle... right?

Akamaru had woken up by this point to beg noodles, which Kiba gave to him in case Fury had another temper tantrum because of annoying puppy whining. She was scary when she was angry. She seemed like such a little angel, but it would seem she still had fangs under the feathers.

He already knew she had fangs, and claws, when she needed them, but it took a lot for her to show her maw... usually. There had to be some reason that she was working with thin ice over a boiling temper today... and he really hoped he was wrong about his first guess, because that meant he'd have to deal with it for more than just today, and this wasn't like his big sister where he could just not get anywhere near her or her room for a week. This was his student, not to mention someone he now considered his girl friend, even if he never officially asked her to go out with him.

He was still quietly sipping broth out of his bowl when another person who was looking for Fury came upon them. Or, better put, the person wanted Fury to tell them where someone else was.

The first signal of this person approaching would be Akamaru whining and shaking. Kiba didn't have to ask the stupid question, and he didn't have to look, as his puppy crawled from his shoulder down into his coat to hide.

Only one person in the world had caused Akamaru to duck and run like that, and it was from feeling his chakra levels alone.

"You." This person addressed Fury, who had just finished her ramen. The girl, seeming a little more brazen than usual, turned on her chair to sight the red head behind her.

"Yes...?" She asked, her tone the normal one, the cheery one. Still, she noticed that Kiba had crouched over, as if he was playing meek and trying not to be noticed. She could understand, being faced with Gaara, for that was who had called her out, but Fury tried to say that any friend of Loor's was a friend of hers, barring a few people.

Gaara's blue eyes were wandering slightly as he asked his question. "Where is your older sister?"

Cue Fury's second temper tantrum for the day.

"_Onee-san?_" Fury's tone turned to a sickly sweet one, the first sign of her fangs showing again. Kiba tensed. Gaara was the wrong person to snap at!! "Where is O_nee-san? _Oh yeah, I remember, she's back at Lee's apartment because she's _sick!" _She glared at the red head. "And I'm guessing it's on account of running into a particular red head on one of her mid-night sessions!"

Kiba expected Gaara to kill her, in all honesty. He expected the red headed sand villager to kill Fury right then and there like he had those three nin during the Forest of Death part of the chunnins... the three deaths he himself had witness. At once, he got up, standing in front of Fury, protecting.

Still... Gaara's eyes may have showed a want to kill, but also a resistance to that want. The red head stared right through Kiba, still locked onto the female behind the dog boy. "She's... she's sick?"

"Yes!" Fury snapped, shoving Kiba out of the way and getting out of her chair. "And her ribs were bruised again this morning, which is how I know it was you! She _just_ got out of the hospital, and you have to go and damage her again, you little sand jerk! I don't care what you do, I'm forbidding you from getting near her until she's not sick anymore!"

Gaara blinked once. "I'd like to see you stop me."

Kiba grabbed Fury as she moved to punch him, holding her back. "I'll show you! All you've been doing is hurting her, since the very beginning! As much as I like to see my sister heal emotionally, I can't let her physical condition go to shit over it!"

And that was the first time Kiba really heard Fury swear.

Gaara glanced between the spitting cat of a girl, and the dog boy holding her. His eyes drifted back and forth, and then he turned down the street. He didn't even say good-bye, he just walked.

"What?!" Fury howled. "Where are you going?? Don't you run away from me!!"

"Fury!" Kiba snapped, flicking her on the nose again, Akamaru crawling up Kiba's coat to stick his head out of the top and nip at the only thing he could reach, her shoulder.

"What?!" She snapped at him. "Am I not allowed to get angry?!"

He sighed, pulling her tightly into a hug, trembling Akamaru between them. "Not at that guy..."

Fury's rage was slightly mollified, seeing as Kiba's voice expressed fear for her. It had a way of taking a girl down a few pegs. "...he... he's my sister's boyfriend. I shouldn't have to be scared of him."

He nodded slightly, not letting go of her. She didn't seem to notice that she just had a brush with death. A subtle one, but a brush with death none of the less. "The kid is practically a _Shinigami_ on his own... you scared me."

_"Shinigami?_" She questioned, petting Akamaru, who was just getting rid of the shakes now. "I don't know that much Japanese..."

"God of death." He answered, sniffing the air, as if to make sure that Gaara was gone. Of course the red head had moved on, but he didn't like a different scent on the air. "Uh... Fury? Are you _sure_ you're okay?"

"Um... yeah, why? I mean, besides my mood..."

"I smell blood on you."

She yelped, jumping away from him to check herself at all angles, turning frantic. "Blood?! I don't think I'm bleeding... no cuts, no nothing!"

"Hold still!" He growled. He walked up as she complied, walking in a tight circle around her, sniffing the whole way, and wincing. God, his first guess had been right.

"What's up?" Fury asked, cocking her head to one side.

"Not much..." Kiba sighed. "Just looks like your aunt Flow came to town, eh?"

She gave him a blank stare. Following that, she blinked twice, and went back to staring.

He cocked his head to the side. She couldn't still be...?

This wasn't her first...?

There was no mistaking the clueless look. It had to be. Still, there was no way he could help her! He was a guy! Akamaru whined, giving out the same fact, and Kiba nodded, sighing. "Fury, go to Hana."

"Why?" Fury asked, getting nervous. He was suddenly intense.

"Just go to Hana and tell her that your aunt Flow came to visit for the first time, she'll get it." Kiba gave, looking embarrassed to give her such instructions.

"But I don't have an aunt Flow!"

"I know that!" Kiba snapped, pointing in the general direction of his home. "Now go to Hana and tell her what I told you!"

Slowly, Fury started to move, edging past him. "A-a-are you gonna come with me?" She asked, the color drained from her face. What kind of code-speak had he given her? What was Hana gonna do?

"Sure... back to the house, but you'll see Hana on your own."

Fury could live with that... just as long as she found out properly what was wrong with her. Something to do with horrible stomach pain and smelling like blood.

* * *

Hana stared at Fury at first, right after Fury given her directed message. Then, she rushed Fury into the nearest bathroom within the house. 

"Check your underwear." Hana commanded, coming in with her and going into a nearby cabinet, digging for something. "See how far it got."

"How far what got???" Fury nearly shrieked. "What the hell is wrong with me???"

"Stop being so hysteric." Hana snipped. "Oh, gods, where did I put them... they gotta be somewhere in here..."

"If I'm gonna check my underwear... are you gonna leave the room?" Fury asked, uncomfortable.

"You don't have nothin' I ain't seen." Hana gave back. "Now take off your pants already before they get stained."

"Not before you tell me what the hell is going on!"

Hana pulled her head out of the cabinet, looking directly at Fury. "Don't you know what the hell your period is?" She snipped.

Suddenly, in Fury's mind, it was a matter of two plus two. And, as we all know, two plus two, or cramps plus smelling like blood, equals four, or your period.

Instantly, Fury felt blush spread from the base of her neck to the roots of her hair and the tips of her ears. Forgetting her discomfort, she slipped her pants off to find a red stain in her underwear. It was at this point that Hana emerged with what she was looking for; pads. She told Fury to wait though, leaving and returning with a fresh pair of underwear that looked like they'd fit, and showed her how to put the pad on right.

"Gods, sucks getting your first while you're away from home, eh?" Hana chuckled, taking the stained pair of underwear and tossing it into a trashcan. Fury had been borrowing from Hana for a while. "Usually moms handle that."

Fury giggled lightly. "It was worth seeing Kiba so embarrassed... and I'm a little okay with my mom missing it... it would probably make her sad."

"Sad?" Hana sat on the counter, Fury still sitting on the toilet seat. "Moms are usually proud when their daughters get to sexual maturity... even though they spend the next seven years making sure the girl can't do nothin' with it."

"My mom... she can't have kids anymore. She got cancer right after I was born..." Fury sighed. "She'd probably feel sad... because all the other women in her family have too. It would be like seeing the clock start on a time bomb that's eventually gonna go off.. maybe even before I have a chance to start a family of my own. I don't want her to have to think about that."

Hana nodded, understanding. "Well, you know what that means, right?" She asked in a teasing tone, the one she usually held in the mornings when she came into Kiba's room with a camera.

"What?"

"It means you an' Kiba better get busy!"

We will not inquire to why Hana has a box of pads jammed onto her head.


	46. The Devil Has A Heart

Three of Four.

**No Ownage.**

OWTF!!!

**Markings- Chapter Forty Six  
****The Devil Has a Heart**

Loor awoke as night was falling. She had been sleeping all day; Doctor's orders. Okay, more like Fury's orders, but it worked the same way. Do it or get yelled at, and her head didn't feel like getting yelled at when she was told to go home and go to bed.

Odd that she took Lee's bed while he was away, and yet refused to sleep in it while she was sick. She told herself that she was being lazy, not wanting to wash the sheets if she happened to throw up on them, but the truth was that she just didn't feel right sleeping on his bed; period. It was like saying he wasn't gonna get out of the hospital. Oh sure, she knew his condition wasn't the best now, but he was a hair's length from standing on his own two feet. Maybe he'd be able to move around with crutches soon, or something.

Then... a knock came at her door, which was the real reason she had woken up. After chakra training, feeling someone's being there wasn't too hard unless they were trying to conceal themselves. You could even get a grip of how they were doing... like an aura. Loor hadn't gotten too good at reading them yet, but this person had actually reached out to her, as if to prod her chakra and see how she was doing, which meant they were worried. The polite knocking said that it was either Fury, who was unlikely, since she probably didn't know how to poke someone else's being yet, or one of the sensei, checking on her.

"Come in." She gave, turning her head into her pillow, knowing that light from the street lamps would come in once someone opened the door. "The door is open... I think..."

There was the sound of someone trying the knob, but the door was locked so all it did was rattle. This was Loor's cue to struggle up to her feet. "Sorry..." She gave. "Coming... coming..."

The other person's chakra poked her again, telling her to sit back down, as if they knew getting up made her head spin. Whether she was reading too much into it or not, she complied and put her head back on her pillow.

Two seconds later, the door popped open, Gaara on the other side, a sand key turning liquid and returning to the gourd.

"What...?" Loor asked, raising an eyebrow. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I've been looking for you." He said, as if it were a proper answer, shutting the door behind himself and coming to sit at her side. He didn't look like he was too worried about her condition, but he didn't look like he had made the visit in anger either.

"For what reason?" She pulled her blanket up, shivering. It felt so cold in the room because she was so warm. "If you haven't noticed, I caught a nasty little bug after you dropped me in the river. You shouldn't hang around too long unless you want it too."

"I couldn't care less." He shrugged. "I..." His blue eyes drifted from her, scanning the dark, empty room. He drifted because he didn't know what to say... or he did, but didn't know how to say it.

She waited. She could wait all night.

"I thought about what you said." He finally gave. "About... being weak without Shukaku."

"And?" She gave, not expecting much.

"And I want training."

"What?" She asked. "Dude, you can kill people with your legs chopped off, all you really need to do is be able to make a hand sign."

"But I am not strong on my own." He returned, speaking quickly again, speaking spontaneously. He was not giving thought to his words, wanting to say them fast and get his point across. "I can't punch or kick someone, I can't use anything besides all my sand jutsu..." He sighed. "Nothing... but the Shukaku's gifts... curses, things I don't want anymore."

She sighed, closing her eyes for a few moments. "You realize that I'm not gonna be here for much longer?" She questioned. "I'm pretty much here till the end of the chunnins, and then I'm gone, and never coming back."

"I understand."

She opened one eye, and then offered her hand. He stared as if he didn't know what to do with it.

"Grab my hand, and try to pull me up to you with just that arm." She instructed. "I'll do the same. I'm sick right now, so this is a test of how bad you are right now. If I'm stronger than you, even right now, I'll pull you down. If you're stronger than me, you'll pull me up. If we're the same, we'll pull ourselves towards our own fists."

Slowly, he nodded, putting his hand into hers and then grabbing. On a nod, they both started pulling, but it was no contest in Loor's direction. Gaara's legs might have stood a chance, since he had to walk around a lot, but his arms had no training and no strain placed on them... ever. She nearly yanked him all the way to the floor.

She let him go after pulling him like that, sighing. "Not much to work with... but Loor might be able to handle it... under a few conditions."

He cocked his head, just a little. 'Conditions?"

"Yeah, number one being that if we spar, there will be no sand involved. I don't need to end up getting crushed up like Lee."

"I can't--"

"Has the thought ever crossed that brain of yours to leave that damned gourd at home?" She questioned, her temper short.

"It doesn't matter." He replied. "The sand I have with me is mine... yes, but I can control all of it, and all of it will protect me if someone tries to hit me, even in sparring."

"Then we go out of range." She snorted at him. "It can't be that hard to find a place that doesn't have a lot of sand... I mean, a grain or two here or there, that's no big deal, a kick can break through that, and you can't crush someone with it. I'm just saying you have to leave the bulk at home."

He pondered this. Was it that easy? Easy as leaving the gourd where he couldn't reach it? Why hadn't he thought of that before?

He already knew that, and once again he sighed, lowering his head. "No good... I didn't always have the gourd. Shukaku can make the sand out of thin air with his own chakra. It's why I couldn't kill myself when I was younger. The gourd is so he won't sap himself in the beginning of a fight in case I ever need him later."

And then Loor grinned. "Perfect."

"What?" He asked, not understanding her logic.

"We drain you, and then work you physically. Everything the sand does saps either you or Shukaku. Leave the gourd at home, and between making sand and using jutsu we'll completely drain the both of you of your chakra, and then get to the real work."

He thought about it. Drain Shukaku? It seemed like a good idea... but he didn't know of the raccoon having a limit. Shukaku only shouldered in on making sand during fights... or possessing him when Gaara allowed it. He'd never tested Shukaku's limits.

This was going to be interesting.

Slowly, Gaara nodded. "I'll try."

She smirked, relaxing where she lay. "...good."

There was silence, but it was a comfortable one. Silence was Gaara's language, which made Loor feel like she didn't have to say anything. Still, at the same time, she could feel little pokes and prods from Gaara's chakra. He was still checking her condition, trying to find out just how much was wrong with her.

"Rest." He commanded, getting up to leave. "You should be fine tomorrow."

She giggled lightly. "What makes you say that, Ga-Ga-Kun?"

He had opened the door, turning to look back at her, looking rather like a demonic shadow with ice blue eyes with yellow streetlights behind him. "You've been throwing up, _Kuro_. It's the body's way of rejecting something it doesn't want, or knows is bad, and is the final stages of sickness."

She smirked. "Then maybe you should go and vomit up the Shukaku, eh?"

He stared at her, making such a light joke of such a serious thing... and yet he found a smile on his face. It felt so odd, but he didn't mind it. In fact, it was like her touching him, only there was no contact...

And like her touching him, he liked it.

* * *

Gaara had been right. When Loor got up the next morning, she felt a couple worlds better than she had the night before. That might have also had something to do with getting a full night of sleep for the first time since she got out of the hospital, but she wasn't one to take such a little fact into account. She got up and went to find something to eat out of the refrigerator in the main room of the apartment, the one that she slept in.

One would not be surprised to find that the fridge was much like everything else in Lee's apartment; under used and neatly organized. All he had in there were protein drinks and milk for cryin' out loud! She knew he didn't cook, but this was a little beyond sad and crazy. How could a person live to never eat in their own home? Or make a meal for themselves...?

She sighed, stomach grumbling. She'd find something, she was sure. Still, she had an agenda today, and it would not be the first time in the world, or her world, that food had to wait. She shrugged on her green coat, zipping it up to the lower hem of her bra, and left the apartment while shoving her key into the stomach pouch on the coat. The walk to the hospital was short and undisturbed, seeing as she was up pretty early. Not before the sunrise, but close.

Due to this time, none of the nurses were there to keep her from entering the place, which was a blessing. Though she was well, she didn't really feel like punching anyone right now.

Lee's room, on the third floor, was getting all of the morning light, though it was only an pink-ish-orange sliver at the foot of his bed. Loor had let herself in, quietly shutting the door, not wanting to wake Lee up, seeing as he was still asleep. She remembered what happened yesterday, and started to snoop around the room, wondering where the hell the kid could put her leg weights when he couldn't get very far from the bed. Her legs felt so strange with out them, but that wasn't why she wanted them. She was up to sixty pounds on either leg, which was no big deal. If she needed to be weighted down, she'd find Kony and have him and one of his friends cling to her legs for a day.

No, she wanted those weights for something else.

Her search went through the whole room, since that was probably his current range of movement. There were crutches by his bed now, but she was pretty sure they hadn't gotten much usage. Lee probably attempted walking without them when they told him to get up for the first time yesterday. Besides the crutches, her search turned up nothing.

That is, till she started inspecting the bed.

Under his pillow, her weights were depressing the mattress. She didn't dare to try and take them. If she disturbed him, she didn't doubt his ability of knocking her into next Tuesday. Instead, she pulled up a chair and sat down at his side. Waiting was boring, but she wanted to talk to him too.

Odd enough, he didn't sleep for that much longer. It may have been moments before the boy stirred, his head turning slightly, away from Loor, before his brown eyes slowly opened.

Then, his head turned back to Loor, and a smile broke out onto his face. This wasn't a numbed out drooping smile either, it was a full grin that she was happy to see and return. Without thinking, she leaned over and applied her hand to the left side of his face, the side that had been numb to let the jutsu painlessly do its work. "Morning." She greeted.

He nodded slightly, and she watched as his left hand somehow managed to creep up and lay over her hand on his cheek. She couldn't help but think for a moment about how smooth his skin was, even though he hadn't had a real bath in a while. Even his hand was soft, which was almost as odd as the fact that she was thinking about it. "Morning."

"How have you been?" She asked.

"Better." He answered. "And you?"

'Much better." She lightly rubbed his cheek. "I slept all day... and night."

"I am surprised. No midnight run?"

"Nope." She then reduced her smile a little. "So... um... can I have my weights back?"

"Are you well?" He questioned.

"Yes." She snickered, shaking her head. "Do you think I'd be here at this time if I wasn't?"

"I would be worried if you didn't. You are never one to let anything get in the way of what you want to do, not even your health." He moved his pillow, showing her weights, bidding her to take them. Of course, that required both hands and that meant taking her hand off of his cheek, which was a reluctant action. When she took them, she just lightly set them on the floor for the time being.

"Are you going to put them on?" He asked, settling back onto his pillow.

"Later." She assured.

"Loor." He looked like he was about to scold. Loor knew why too. Like his sensei before him, Lee had commanded that the weights only came off in the case of the owner's nindo being threatened. In Loor's case, that would mean that her friends were threatened, or her own life. Of course, he had made an exception for her being sick, but he didn't seem to like the fact that she wasn't gonna put 'em back on right away.

Then his face changed.

"What are you going to do with them?" He asked, clear as day and blunt. Her first reflex was to lie, but she fought it off.

"I... Have a friend who could use 'em, and I just agreed to help out in their training."

Okay, partially fought it off.

"And you plan to use your own weights?"

"Back at the beginner level. I'm not sure how much they can handle."

He stared at her for a moment, round brown eyes staring. She stared right back, trying not to think about the minor imperfections of his eyes, of how the shape was too round, the iris unusually large, but the pupils just as sharp as anything.

A few moments passed, and he hefted a sigh. "Put your weights on." He commanded. "Go to my team and talk to Gai sensei. He has several sets and would be willing to gift one to a just cause... and train with them for the time being. I do not think I will be out of the hospital anytime soon, but TenTen can give you weapons training."

Loor laughed shortly. "Yeah, if me and Neji don't kill each other first."

He winced. "I forgot that you two do not get along."

"We'll live." She smiled, trying to comfort him. It must have been frustrating, directing a student while bedridden.

And then... there was silence. Loor made no move to leave, and Lee relaxed back on his bed for several moments. His eyes tracked to the ceiling, to Loor, and back again.

"Why did you kiss me?"

"Eh?" Loor's head shot up, having been looking down.

"The day you were released, you visited me, and kissed me on the forehead when you left." Lee blushed lightly at the memory. "I wanted to know why."

"Because I couldn't hug you at the time." She answered. "I could have damaged some part of your left side... or disturbed the healing process if I hugged you, so I decided that just a little peck would do just as well." She shrugged a little. "Just showing a little affection. They say human contact assists the process where I come from... though I think that's just a parent's excuse to cuddle their sick child."

He blinked once, and then turned his head away. "Yes... that makes sense."

She sensed something in his mood change, and got up from the chair to lean over the bed. "Lee? What's wrong?"

Lee's head turned back to look up at her. She had leaned directly over him, electrical blue eyes staring down in genuine concern. Honestly, he couldn't figure the words to answer her question, and thus didn't use any.

Shock was the first thing Loor felt. Shock at what he had done to answer her, that he had dared to do it after hearing all the horror stories that pertained to boys who tried to get close to her. After shock, there was enjoyment, but her eyes were still wide to stare.

He had leaned up after her question, a simple movement of his neck to lift his head to hers, more importantly, his lips to hers. It was a light contact, more of a question than an answer. And it was after enjoyment of being kissed that Loor was hit with a second shock.

Lee had feelings for her, feelings that were quite clearly expressed at the moment.

And now, she had two choices. One choice was the lie; to close her eyes and show him what tongue was all about. Sure, Lee was cool, but she didn't like him that way. She respected him as a hard worker, determined, and above all, kind. Oh, yeah, we'll just skip over the down right sexy bod he had going on. She held respect for him and perhaps a brotherly love.

But those weren't the feelings he was looking for, and he wasn't looking for a lie. He wanted to know, and didn't know how to say it; a common problem among males his age.

And that brought her to her other choice; the truth.

Gentle but firm, she pulled away and stood over his bed, wearing a sad smile. Her eyes showed full understanding, and he could sight it at once, and gave a nod of recognition.

She then leaned over him again, hugging him around the neck. "Thank you for telling me."

"You are welcome, Loor." He returned, patting her back.

She sighed. She had to finalize this, or he'd keep trying. What did this mean?

_"Nii-san." _

Loor had another big brother.

A slight tremor went through Lee as he understood she was not welcoming any more attempts, but he nodded slowly. _"Imoto-chan."_

She let go of him, and picked her weights up off of the floor, turning to leave the room. "Get some rest, Lee. You'll need it when they start physical therapy."

"Loor?"

She stopped, a foot from the door, and turned her head. "Yeah?"

"Who is it that you are training?"

She stared at him for a moment, and then sighed. "Gaara."

He stared for a moment, and then a look crossed his face. "So the devil has a heart."

"What do you mean by that?" Loor asked, opening the door, inches from leaving.

"I mean he has stolen yours."


	47. Hospital Visits

Four of Four, that is it for this week! I think… I have a long weekend, so I might get more done, but no guarantees.

**No ownage.**

OWTF!!!

**Markings- Chapter Forty Seven  
****Hospital Visits**

Loor didn't get very far from Lee's room before she ran into someone else that she knew. She didn't expect him to be there, but he stood in front of her, clear as day, in the middle of the stair well going from the third floor to the second floor.

There, on the second floor landing, was Gaara.

It was not so much the boy standing there but the way he was standing. He was leaning against the wall of the landing with one palm against his eye, the other hand doing a sign. She could feel his chakra usage, but wasn't quite sure what for. The other eye, the one that wasn't covered, was closed, so he wasn't aware of her quite yet.

She starting glancing around, confused. His chakra wasn't concentrated on his own person, it was somewhere else. It was like a thread going from his covered eye to somewhere else, or a piece of fishing line, seeing as she couldn't sense where it went.

That is, till it flew over her head.

She watched as an eyeball that looked to be made of sand went over her head, the pupil of it tracking her before suddenly breaking apart, the grains flowing in a single stream to go back to the gourd, which was open.

Gaara's ice blue eyes came open, looking over to her. He opened his mouth, probably to make a pointed and well thought out comment, but she didn't let him. Her own words were far too quick.

"What, are you stalking me again?!" She snorted, glaring. Her face had gone red. That little eye thing had to be one of the sand jutsu he could do, obviously, and probably worked as a third eye. More likely than not, it had been in Lee's room with her.

That means Gaara had seen what had happened in Lee's room. But eyes were not ears, he probably heard nothing of it, but that was worse. He would not have seen her gently pushing Lee away, he would have seen her kissing Lee and then hugging him with a smile on her face.

Why did she care?

Gaara said nothing to her sharp tongue, walking up while securing the cork in his gourd. He stared at her, intense and questioning.

"What?" She snorted, glaring down at him, trying to be just as intense, but she wasn't too good at being intense unless she was screaming at someone.

"Why did you do that?" He finally asked, his voice growling. Loor detected some of the old blood thirst, and could almost sense his thoughts flicking up to Lee's room.

"Do what?" She snarled back. "Show my concern and affection to him as a friend? He _is_ injured you know!"

"Why do you touch him that way, damn it?!"

Gaara yelling is not usually something you answer back to. The boy's voice was threatening and almost scary when raised. Still, that wasn't the reason that Loor took a step back.

Loor almost couldn't believe it. He was more like a child than she thought; possessive over her like a five year old over a new toy, screaming 'MINE!!' the whole way even when an elder sibling just wanted to look at it. In this case though, the toy had taken it's own action to be in another user's hands, and the supposed owner was not happy.

But... being possessive was not something she'd stand for. She became very angry herself, puffing up like a cat fluffs up all of it's fur, regaining the step she took back and following it by a second to seemingly loom over him. "What?!" She snarled. "I invite you to be my friend, and you expect me to cut off my relations with everyone else? I don't belong to you all of the sudden!"

"And what of what I'm doing for you?" He snapped, nearly nose to nose with her. "I'm not allowed to ask anything in return for changing the way I do everything?!"

"That's different!" Loor couldn't help her physical reaction, to grab his shoulders and push him back into the wall, as if the extra intimidation would help get her point across. At the same time, sand pushed the gourd's cork out to the floor, taking up on her wrists and up to her neck. Neither of them were fazed. "I'm trying to help you become a real person instead of the monster Shukaku forces you to be, and you're trying to keep me like a doll in a box! I'm not a toy, Gaara!"

While yelling, she had to think about how uncomfortable it was for the gourd to be the thing against the wall, and his shoulder arching over the curvature of it while nearly picking his feet up off the ground.

There was a long silence between them, but the yelling seemed to echo, keeping their anger over those moments, raging the fight between their eyes, versing electricity against ice, her thunderstorm against his blizzard.

"What does it mean?" He finally asked, managing a calmer voice.

"What?" She snipped quickly.

"The way you touched... what does it mean?"

He didn't know what it meant to kiss someone?

"It meant..." She trailed, her fingers loosening on his shoulders. In turn, the sand slowly came off of her arms. "That Lee thought something was there... but there wasn't, which is why I pulled away. He thought that I could love him in a different way than family love... or believed that he could love me in such a way, but I can't, and I couldn't indulge him in a lie."

"Why can't you love?"

Ha, such an innocent question.

She sighed. "The way Lee wants it... none of us are ready to love that way. It's not that we don't want to... it's that we can't. We're too young to love in that way."

He seemed confused. "But you can lie and act like it?" He questioned. "How can you act like something you can't be?"

"No one can do a true act... sooner or later, it slips. They stumble upon the part that they don't know, and the lie is discovered..." She let go of his shoulders, letting her head and hands drop. "Lee is a hopeless romantic... the way he believes in love will break his heart thousands of times. He believes it blindly, trusts things he doesn't know, and he will break his own heart till it's in a million pieces..." She snorted, moving to go down the stairs. "Pathetic."

Gaara, still confused, moved to follow her. "You want to help me, but you find the thing I'm looking for pathetic?"

"No. I find the people who let themselves be hurt by false love pathetic. For real love to hurt you... if you live through it, you should be known as a war hero." She laughed, ruefully. "I, myself, Gaara, used to be the most pathetic of all forms when it came to false love... Firstly, I thought it existed for someone my age at the time, which was ten, which is sad enough as it is. And then, through superficial relationships, one after another, I refused the option of living without a male to cling to... I thought my heart had been broken and wounded, but the pain was as fake as the things I thought I felt. The second I came to know that I didn't need any of it... that I was my own person, I became the freedom loving creature that I am."

They came to the first floor landing, and kept walking. Loor's pace was brisk, as if she had somewhere to be. Gaara kept pace, of course, mulling over the things that she said. Loor was such a long-winded person, she used more words in a few moments than he let pass his mind in an hour.

All this talk about love... she spoke as if there were thousands of ways to love someone and be loved. False love, real love, wanted, and giving, and loves that people weren't even capable of till a particular age... it seems like rules and regulations to the biggest game he had ever heard of... and the most serious. He would remember each and every word, words that used to seem so useless to him, and put together the puzzle. He had a feeling that eventually, when she figured it out herself, he himself would see the whole picture.

But it left a question that had no answer in the picture she was painting.

How did she know so much about love?

She never said how she knew so much, besides what she had just mentioned about past endeavors... but she said they were all fake. She seemed to know a thing or two about real love, but how?

They were all questions he left in his mind, asking something else.

"When will we start training?"

"Tonight." She said simply, pushing the door open as they left the hospital. "It seems we have all our best moments under the cover of darkness."

He gave her a blank look.

"A joke Gaara. That's your cue to laugh."

He didn't laugh, but he did feel a slight smile twitch on his face. "So, the river?"

"As long as you don't toss me in again."

* * *

Fury was heading towards the hospital.

It was slightly past noon, and they had just finished training for the day, having had an early session that day. Kurenai said that they'd be doing weapons tomorrow, so Fury had better get a good night's rest so she didn't get clumsy. Today had been an advanced class in ninja tools, the throwing weapons.

We learned very quickly that one should never, _ever_, give Fury shurikin. She had no idea how to spin them properly, and she had nearly hit Kiba once or twice when attempting anyway. On the other hand, back at home, Fury played a killer game of darts, and it showed in her ability to throw both kunai and sinbons. Kunai, the weighted throwing knives, were the most common weapon in the hand of a shinobi, and Fury handled them well while throwing and was taught the basics of close up today. Sinbons, on the other hand, were a different type of weapon.

Kurenai explained that if Fury wanted to use sinbons properly, she'd need an anatomy lesson or two. Sinbons were thin needles and didn't do much damage if thrown at the wrong area, but if thrown into the right point or organ, were lethal.

Odd that sinbons were the tools Fury had been best at, and would require additional training if she wanted to carry them.

After the lesson, Kiba had decided that they'd go somewhere new for lunch, a nice little restaurant down the way from Ichiraku's. After lunch, Fury told Kiba to go ahead, that she'd meet him back at home.

She had some other business she wanted to attend to, which was why she was heading to the hospital.

She walked in and quickly went to the nurse's station on the far side of the lobby. "Afternoon." She greeted to the nurse behind the counter.

"Afternoon." The nurse returned, nodding. "What can we do for you?"

"I have a friend here, but I don't know if she's allowed visitors yet... she wasn't doing too well last I heard..."

"Her name?" The nurse asked, kicking off of the counter to roll her chair over to her computer.

"Hinata Hyuga."

The nurse tapped at the keyboard, looking at the screen and looking up and down the page that had opened. "Hm... she's allowed visitors. Actually, she's been recovering just fine." She turned her head to Fury. "I'll put you down as a friend?"

"Yeah." Fury nodded. "Do you need my name?"

The nurse shook her head no, waving Fury to go on. "She's on the second floor, room 231."

"_Arigato"_ Fury thanked, bowing slightly and going on her way to the stairs, trotting up quickly. She had been worried about the timid white-eyed girl for quite a while, but had been so worried about Loor and Lee that she never thought to check on her. Now that she was working with Hinata's team, where Hinata was missing, it was a little hard not to remember.

Hinata's room was a textbook hospital room, and Hinata was awake and sitting up in bed when Fury gently knocked on the door.

"Come in..." Hinata's little voice came from the other side of the door.

Fury opened the door, letting herself in and shutting it behind her. Hinata had a few get well gifts at her bedside. It looked like Naruto had sent her a few cups of instant ramen, while Kiba had gone textbook with a card, and Shino the same way with his signature on said card. Kurenai had sent a box of sweets, thought Hinata had hardly touched it. What attracted Fury's attention though would be the vase on the night table. Usually, when someone sent flowers to a hospitalized person, they'll completely wilted and forgotten about by the next week.

These flowers were completely fresh. The water had been changed recently, and they were all different colors, and all bright. Perhaps the daisy looked a day or two old, and started to show it's signs of age, but someone had been tending them.

Hinata tracked Fury's gaze to the vase, and felt herself go bright red. "Uh... um..." She gave a small squeak, like a mouse.

"Who're they from?" Fury asked, shutting the door and pulling up a chair.

Hinata turned even redder. "Um... Na... Naruto... he brings in one every day, changes the water, and throws away the old ones..."

Fury broke into a huge smile. "Aw! That is so sweet! Have you thanked him?"

Slowly... Hinata shook her head no. "I... um... pretend to be asleep whenever he comes."

"Hinata!" Fury squealed. "Why don't you talk to him? We all know you like him, and now... flowers? He likes you back!"

"I know..." She brought her knees up to her chest, lightly poking her index fingers together. "...but I get so nervous... What if I say something stupid while he's here?"

Fury sighed slightly. "I guess... but I think you should---"

Fury paused to the sound of someone knocking strongly on the door. Hinata's eyes widened, and she quickly slammed her head down on the pillow, at once pretending that she was asleep. The knock was obviously Naruto if she reacted like that, which meant the blond knucklehead would let himself in if no one answered to his knock.

Fury was faced with a choice. Her nature told her to walk meekly out and let Hinata play her game, but her very PMS-y gut said something different.

During times like these, you go with your gut.

"C'mon in!" Fury shouted, getting up. "I'm just leaving."

Naruto, as bidden, walked in the room. He smiled at Fury, giving a little nod, but his smile faded as his eyes drifted over Hinata's 'sleeping' form. Fury noticed a new flower held in a hand slightly behind his back, something blue and sweet smelling. "She's always sleeping..." He muttered, sighing and walking in.

Fury, walking to the door, grabbed his arm and came in close to whisper. "She's faking." Fury hissed.

"Eh?" Naruto's voice lowered. "Why would she do that?"

"She's nervous." Fury smirked. "Play your best, _Romeo._"

Naruto, who had no idea to the reference that Fury just made, gave her a look, and then shrugged. "Okay... but if she's really sleeping, I'm coming after you."

"I'll watch my back." Fury answered sarcastically, walking out the door, leaving Naruto in the room with Hinata. The boy in orange gently placed the new flower down on the foot of Hinata's bed, taking off his over coat and hanging it on the hook on the back of the door, showing off a tight black sleeveless.

He then took up the new flower and gently placed it among the others, removing the aging daisy. In all honesty, the flowers had been Sakura's idea. She even told him which ones to buy since she'd been in a flower arranging class or two. Still, he'd been doing this for a week, and every day...

Every day, Hinata was sleeping.

Naruto glanced at her, seeing that her head was almost completely covered up, a little tuft of her black hair sticking out of the white blankets.

He continued to ponder it as he went into the bathroom with the vase, dumping the water and putting new water in. Putting it back on the beside table, he sat in the chair Fury had been using.

"Hinata?"

At first, nothing happened, and then she gave a slight whimper, turning her head, understanding that she had been caught. She kept the blanket up past her nose, letting only her eyes show. Odd, how her eyes almost matched the sheets, white from her bloodline, the byakugan, and her skin not far behind that. Her hair clashed with the whole room, soft black, shining in the light, kindly to one's eyes.

They stared at each other, and Naruto leaned forward. "Do you like the flowers?" He asked.

He watched as her pale skin turned slightly pink. "...y-y-yes... They're very... pretty... thank you."

That just made his day. He broke out into a wide grin. "Your welcome, though some of the thanks goes to Sakura. She knows all about flowers, so she helped me on which ones to buy. If I were on my own, I'm pretty sure I'd have it all wrong." He laughed slightly, scratching the back of his head. "Though I don't think the Hokage has to know anything about flowers."

Hinata did her best to giggle along. "Me neither... though... uh... well.. if you hadn't had help... it still would look nice... I think.."

"Eh?" Naruto asked, cocking his head to one side.

She flushed completely. "I-I-I-I mean... uh... um... that it still would have been nice even if the flowers didn't match... you... didn't have to go to all the trouble of asking Sakura which ones looked good... I still would have just liked you... thinking of me."

"Hmm..." He mulled it over slightly. "I guess so, but this way you like it for me thinkin' of you, and everyone else likes it because it isn't an eyesore."

"Right..." She slowly sat up, letting her face show. This caused Naruto to flash her a big smile, oozing confidence, which made her blush again. "So... how is it going with your team...? You're training for the finals, right?"

"Yeah." Naruto sighed. "I _wanted_ to train with Kakashi sensei, but he ran off with Sasuke. The two have been missing for a week now! And I'm stuck training with this old purve named Jariya..."

"Oh..." Hinata looked down, not quite sure what to say. "Has he taught you anything?"

"Well, _yeah_, or else there would be no point to be still training with him and I'd deal with Ebisu. He taught me more chakra control... and..." Naruto grinned, leaning in close. "Can ya keep a secret?"

"Huh?" Hinata asked, a little confused. "What?

"He taught me how to summon!"

She jumped a little. "R-r-really?? But that's supposed to take a lot of chakra... some people can't even do it right as adults..."

Naruto grinned. "Well _I_ did it!" He paused. "...sorta."

"Huh?"

"All I've been getting are tadpoles lately..." He sighed. "I mean... I got one without a tail once, so that was a little better, but..." He sighed. "Jariya says that I've got a lot more in me, I just gotta figure out how to get to it."

"Do you think you can do it?" Hinata asked, leaning over to face him.

"Sure I can! I just have to train harder."

She graced a smile to her face. "Then you'll do it... Kurenai always tells me that I have to be confident in myself to get things done, but it also helps to have people who are confident in you... so, if it helps at all, I think you can do it."

"Really?" He asked, eyes wide, as if having others confident in him were a new concept, or anyone thinking he could do anything.

She nodded, offering a small smile.

There were a few seconds, and then Naruto leaned a bit more forward, lightly hugging her with one arm.

Somehow, Hinata managed not to pass out and hug him back.


	48. Shifting Sands

Alrighty then, I know it's been… about a month since I have done ANYTHING with this fic. I apologize for that, and I am aware that I have no real reason to have stalled for so long…. My reasons are between my boyfriend (We're at three months on new years!) and the fact that this fic gets little to NO REVIEWS. I know its selfish and such, but if no one is reading I don't have much of a drive to be uploading. 

But I'm here now… for the few and proud readers. Six updates. Yes, six. In a month. Pathetic.

**No ownage. **

OWTF!

**Markings- Chapter Forty Eight **

**Shifting Sands**

"Gaara, what the hell are those?"

Gaara glanced up to his elder sister, as she had just walked into their hotel room. Gaara had been sitting in the corner, strapping a particular item of interest to his arms, not his legs. Yes, Loor had first thought to request leg weights Gai, but it made no sense. Gaara's legs were fine; the kid had been carrying around a seventy-pound gourd on his back for God knew how long. His arms, on the other hand, had never gone through any real strain.

So he would train with weights on his arms, working on half the system that leg weights did. Where the leg weights started at ten pounds and added up to one hundred pounds when completely filled, the arm weights started at five and only went up to fifty.

"What do they look like?" Gaara replied, finishing with strapping one wrist and going to the other. He lacked the leather holster that held the gourd on his back, still wearing his black T-shirt and baggy pants, white scarf crossing his chest.

"Weights, but you don't have any reason to wear them." Temari sat down on her bed, rubbing one of her feet from walking around, exploring Konoha all day and doing training exercises while with Baki sensei. "Why bother?"

"Because I want to."

"Knock yourself out."

Gaara finished with the other weight, an extra five pounds on either arm not exactly being comfortable. Sighing, he glanced at his gourd and it's holster, which were sitting in another corner, leaning against everyone else's stuff.

"I'm going out again tonight." Gaara muttered, icy eyes becoming distant.

"I expected it." Temari shrugged, rubbing her other foot, stretching the ankle.

There was a slight laugh from the bathroom, and Kankuro leaned his head out. He had washed the face paint off for the night, just out of the shower, and had a toothbrush hanging out of his mouth. "Ain't iff funneh Temari?" He asked with a full mouth. He took a moment to lean back into the bathroom, spitting and taking the brush out. "The youngest is the first to start dating, ha!"

"It's not a date." Gaara snorted, leaning back into his corner.

"Oh, sure it isn't!" Kankuro laughed, washing his toothbrush. "And that's why you're not wearing the gourd for the first time in ever!"

"Kankuro!" Temari snapped. "Do _not_ make me come over there and shove that toothbrush up your ass!"

"Geez, Temari. Can't I tease my little brother? He's been getting a sense of humor lately. Y'know, aside from the one he used to have, constantly joking about decapitating me."

"You'd still look good without your legs." Gaara gave, as if to spite his big brother.

"Gah, alright!" Kankuro yelped. "Fine, I'll leave off... for tonight."

There was silence for a while, Gaara stewing, staring out the sliding glass door that led to a balcony for the hotel room, watching the sun sink in the sky. The moon was past half empty now. It would be new in another week, and then a week and a half before it was full...

Why had Shukaku stopped talking to him after the full moon? Gaara had been pondering it for a while, and his brain had been rather full since, so he had been distracted. Now he came back to it, back to his constant calculating of moon rotations, gazing into walls while thinking about how long it was before more people met their end by Shukaku's paws.

Odd how he almost felt disgusted by it now, when before he would be grinning about it. Why did he suddenly hate himself? Was what Loor did worth all this? He wasn't sure, but he was down this path already. There wasn't much for turning back now...

But he wanted to answer at least one question. He needed to know... why was Shukaku silent?

Gaara's eyes lost focus as he sunk into his own mind, feeling himself as his young self. Odd that when Temari had given him his bear in real life, that the one within his mind had been healed of its damage. Where it had been ripped and torn, there were stitches, and the lost stuffing had been replaced. The tears had been washed out of it, leaving the fur glossy and fluffy... like new and old at the same time.

At the same time, Gaara felt slightly older within his own mind. He held his bear to his chest, peering about in the darkness, as if it were to make a difference.

_Shukaku? _

The beast came into focus, but slowly. A small version of the raccoon, curled up and...

Asleep.

Gaara blinked once, inching closer to the beast, which was snoring. It almost annoyed Gaara, how his beast was being unresponsive. It was more annoying as Gaara knew the beast was faking. The demon didn't need to sleep, and generally didn't unless they had recently done a full possession where Shukaku needed to recover his chakra.

_Shukaku! _

One ear twitched, and the snoring stopped. Slowly, the sand raccoon lifted it's head, gold eyes opening and looking upon his host, parting his maw to let out a long yawn of foul breath before lowering his head back down.

Gaara felt slightly irked, tempted to kick the creature.

_Why won't you speak to me? _

**_Don't want to._** Shukaku rolled onto his back, stretching out and laying there, head stretched up to show off the fleshy neck. **_Leave me alone. _**

_No._ Gaara followed after the distance Shukaku rolled, getting to stand behind his head and look down into his eyes. _You never leave me when I say that, now speak to me. _

**_When you scream and cry for me to leave you alone? Pick your poison, boy. _**

_I'm asking you to tell me one thing, nothing more. _

**_Then you'll let me alone? _**

_Yes. _

Shukaku yawned again, making sure to blow it's breath right into Gaara's face. **_Fine then, make your wish, or whatever._**

_What deal did Loor make with you? _

Shukaku rolled up onto his feet, glaring and growling at his host. **_Tricky little bastard, aren't you?_**

****

_What?_ Gaara asked. _It's a simple question. _

**_The wager is between the girl and I, not you! _**Shukaku stamped his front paws near Gaara's feet, but the boy didn't flinch. ****

_I don't care. Tell me._

Shukaku stared for a moment, and then went into an odd grin. **_Hyuk... Possessive little boy, aren't you? Have to know what's wrong with your bitch._**

****

_She made it rather clear that she doesn't belong to me. _

**_But you don't care._** The shrunken monster prowled closer, grinning still. **_You want her to belong to you, keep her away from everyone else in a nice little glass case, but she'll never settle for that. She's far too wild for that, too untamed. She'll shatter every cage in spite, every bond in rage. _**

_You mean she's like you?_

**_In a way... in a very human way. I never pondered that before._** Shukaku looked as if he were trying to think about it. ****

_You are very different... she fights for a love of freedom. _

**_And a love of bringing others to freedom. Look at yourself, Gaara. Not even trembling... You're stronger, thanks to her. _**

_And you're not vowing to kill her._

**_No, no, not at all. You see, that was the deal. _**

_Yes? _

**_It's very simple Gaara; you can't fall in love with her. _**

The boy jumped slightly. _What? _

**_You heard me. The girl doesn't believe in love. _**Shukaku gave a malicious smile, all of the fangs in his maw showing. **_If you fall in love, I get to kill her, no questions asked, at the next full moon. _**

_That makes no sense... _Gaara trailed. He tried to calculate it into the information he already had... and came up with a single answer. _You're lying. _

Shukaku snorted at his host, falling down and curling up again. **_Maybe... maybe not... the deadline of the wager is the next full moon, Gaara... wait too long to put the riddle together yourself, and she'll be gone. _**

****

Gaara stared, growling. _She will never be gone... I won't let her. _

* * *

"Alright, that's it for today!"

Loor cursed lightly, sitting down from where she had been throwing. The first thing TenTen wanted to teach her were ninja tools so Loor could practice long range... one problem; Loor could hardly throw a ball and hit a target. The only thing she got close to right were shurikin, and that's only because it was a lot like throwing a mini-Frisbee... with spikes. Still, you had to learn to flick it just right, or else your aim would be off.

Loor glanced rather glumly at the target drawn on the upright log across the clearing... and the clean red bulls-eye. She'd hit the log once or twice, and the target's edges every now and then, but most of her shots went beyond... into the grass in front or the trees beyond.

"You're still pathetic." Neji snorted, crossing his arms and brushing past the blond who was sitting on her butt. Loor snarled, reaching out to grab his ankle and trip him up, but he kicked at her hand, turning to glare down at her with his snowstorm white eyes. "What? Bite me like a snake?"

"I'll bite you however I bloody well want to!" She gave, getting to her feet to glare at the older boy.

"Whoa, c'mon guys, take it easy!" TenTen gave, quickly jumping in to defuse the fight. "You can have this little spat tomorrow."

"She is right." Gai sensei gave, coming away from the tree he had been leaning on. Loor had not shown any surrender when TenTen told them to stop, but backed down as Gai came into the situation. Lee would be upset if he knew that Loor and his sensei weren't getting along. "We will be training again bright and early tomorrow."

Neji looked up at his sensei, as if he was going to argue, but simple gave an arrogant huff and began to walk. Loor glared after him, tempted to grab his long crop of black hair and yank very hard. TenTen lingered, and then gave a light nod to both Loor and her sensei before following after Neji.

Loor turned to Gai. "Are you sure this is going to work out?" She asked, skeptical.

"If Lee thinks so, so do I." Gai offered a sparkling smile. "You two are really alike when you think about it, down to how you act with Neji. Lee was never one to give up, and I doubt he ever will. He's probably still doing exercises in the hospital!" With that, Gai gave a slight proud laugh, and Loor smiled lightly. Gai was right. They did have a lot in common.

"Alright... but tell TenTen that we might wanna lay off tool training... I doubt I'm ever going to get long range down. It was never my style." She smirked. "I prefer to be up close and personal with all my enemies."

"TenTen will never take that." Gai snickered. "She will probably insist you hit the bull's eye at least once."

Loor nodded, starting to walk. "Fine, once, and then we move on to short range. I can't stand throwing for too long."

Gai didn't answer her, letting her sink into the woods. She was getting used to her leg weights again, sixty pounds on either leg. She missed them in a way, but getting them back after being without for a day was like getting out of a cast to have it put back on. You had to relearn how to do just about everything with your legs.

It didn't take long to get to the river, glancing about for her student in case he had gotten there before her. The first thing she sighted was the fact that her cleaned practice stave from two nights ago was still there. She walked up to it, bending to pick it up and checking to make sure nothing had damaged it while she was away. It looked to be in good condition, though not yet dry thanks to letting it lie on the ground.

She glanced up at the slight break in the trees, the sky going dark as the sun had already gone past the horizon. Soon, the stars would start coming out, and the half moon to follow.

But when was Gaara to follow? She said under the cover of darkness, so it was all a question of how eager he was to get out here.

"Evening."

That answered that question.

She turned around quickly to sight him, raising an eyebrow at the way he was. It was strange to see him without his gourd, but he had taken off the white scarf too, leaving him in a black T, black baggy pants, and the open toe shoes everyone wore...

He looked normal, aside from the black rings around his eyes, and how vivid red his hair was. Seriously, she'd never seen hair _that_ red. It really was the color of blood, no copper tones to be seen.

"Evening." She returned, nodding and putting her stave across her shoulders. The next thing she noticed were the weights on his wrists. "Right on time... you ready?"

He nodded, walking away from the trees and into the center between the wall of woods and the river. "Just stand here?"

"Just stand... Let's wear Shukaku out first."

And with that, she attacked. It was a leap forward while whipping her stave out from behind her shoulders, aiming a serious strike at Gaara's head. She wasn't sure this would work, but she wasn't going to chance it not working by not making good attacks.

Still, she could sense the chakra usage. It caused sand to come out of thin air, blocking her blow. She grinned, and drew back in an arc around, turning her back to Gaara and having her stave follow the curve around her torso, one sharp point driving back to where a tough hit to the back would have connected if not for more sand appearing, blocking, and then dropping to the ground once she pulled away for another strike.

It all was in quick session, twisting, turning, and striking. Gaara watched her as she shed her coat, continuing on in her sports bra, eventually shedding her shoes as well, rathering the grass under her feet.

The whole time, Gaara was checking Shukaku. Sooner or later, the beast would run out... and Gaara had to be prepared. The second that happened, he would use up his own chakra manipulating the sand that was already on the ground. He was thinking about his techniques, the ones he knew that would use the most energy, how to make lower level ones use up more energy, and other things of the sort. At the same time, he had to track where Loor's stave was.

The girl moved very quickly, much like her peer sensei. Lee moved a great deal faster, able to push out several attacks a second, but she was well on her way of following him.

"Now." Gaara save the single word of warning. It had to have taken half an hour, but Shukaku's presence, chakra wise, was hardly hanging on. The proof of it was that Loor couldn't stop one last swing...

And Gaara had to duck it.

The two stared at each other, Gaara bent over from avoiding her strike, Loor panting from working overtime.

There was silence as Gaara stood straight again, one hand flicking up, and the sand on the ground following the command and coming off of the ground. He held all that had been produced, which was a great deal, mid air. Loor's eyes were attracted up as the half-moon had come to shed light through the trees, causing the sand to glitter almost.

It looked artistic... almost graceful as a swirling mass of shifting grains, like a pit of quicksand held mid air. She was so taken with it that she didn't notice as some of the mass broke off... that is, till it took hold on her.

She yelped quietly, shocked as her feet left the ground for a few short seconds. She had nothing to worry about, he was just moving her a few feet back and didn't feel like telling her to move there. The sand put her down gently on her rear, and rejoined the rest.

She was given front row seats to enjoy the show.

At first, it was mechanical. His hands held the puppet strings, but the puppet kept doing the same dance. The mass would twist this way, shift that way, fall, and rise, all like some complex magic act that lacked any passion what so ever.

And then it changed.

Loor nearly jumped as the whole mass changed shape, taking on the huge form of a traditional dragon, the long and snaky type with the huge head and mouth full of teeth. Her jump caused him to look at her, and she flashed a slight smile, clapping as the dragon started to fly. Unlike the formless mass before, the dragon had grace like a king, and flowed like water.

The show didn't last long, but long enough for the dragon to become an _oni,_ or Japanese ogre, and ugly creature that tramped around with a large club, and then a desert cat that was well animated to stalk, tense, pounce, and attack a field mouse that had also been animated by the sand.

All for an audience of one, he exhausted himself. The large feline started to crumble, a sign that he didn't have much left, and he let it fall. Loor got up as he sat down. She walked up, leaning down to be on his level again. "You okay?" She questioned, reaching out. He leaned upon her hand as she palmed his cheek, black-rimmed eyes closed for the moment.

"Fine... just..."

Loor stared, as he seemed to be fighting something off, like someone trying to keep from getting sick. He didn't feel warm though, so she hoped that wasn't the case.

"Just what?" She questioned.

He opened his mouth to speak... and yawned.

"What the heck was that?"

He shrugged, leaning against her hand again. "I don't know..."

"Gaara." She seemed a little afraid. "You just _yawned_ for Christ's sake! People do that when they're about to sleep!"

His eyes came open quickly. "What?"

"You heard me." She gave quickly. "How do you feel?"

"Tired... but I always am... Shukaku allows me not to sleep, since demons never haft to... it's because their existence is based on their chakra, not their flesh."

Loor twitched. "Gaara, listen to yourself! What did we just do to Shukaku?"

"We..." He trailed off. He suddenly got it. "He's sustaining himself because we drained him... so..."

"He can't keep you awake."

Gaara nodded, yawning again and settling upon her hand once more.

About two seconds later, he was asleep.


	49. Family Needs

Two of six….

**No Ownage **

**Markings- Chapter Forty Nine  
****Family Needs**

Loor stared at Gaara's face for several moments, not daring to move. The second he had fallen asleep seemed to have frozen in her mind, not allowing her own time to pass while real time went by with the usual hands of the clock. She wasn't quite sure what she was expecting at first. Perhaps a mutation into Shukaku's grotesque form, or for his eyes to suddenly spring open with the raccoon's liquid gold irises and diamond pupils.

The second stayed frozen though, frozen, as she didn't dare to breathe or blink, lest she disturb whatever caused her clock to get stuck and make the moment pass. She feared the next second; as if it would begin a nightmare she'd never be able to bear on her little mind and heart.

And yet... she blinked. Time passed. The water of the river bubbled and sparkled with dance under the moonlight's nightclub wash. The trees creaked like an old man's bones as the young and spry wind stirred them. The world seemed to continue on as she stared at him, wondering just how he had come to be in the way that he was.

This was her fault... he would blame her if something bad happened.

Gently, she lowered him onto the soft grass, leaning over him as if he were dead. His face looked so... different. His constant pain didn't show, nor exhaustion, nor anything besides the serene calm that belonged to deep and restful sleep, sleep the boy needed and had earned.

"Why doesn't Shukaku take you over...?" She questioned, but it was like talking to a brick wall... or a sleeping person. It meant nothing. They heard nothing. "Why isn't he trying to kill me...?"

Nothing happened.

In the silence, she palmed his cheek and nuzzled into his neck on the other side. She left her head to rest against him, lying down, as if she could just fall asleep there too, protecting him from anything that might come along.

Then he twitched.

It was small, a spasm of neck and shoulder muscles, but noticeable. She yanked away to look down at him. The spasm passed once, twice, and a third time before his lolling head faced up to her, no longer at rest.

"... Gaara?"

His eyes opened, the liquid gold.

"Shukaku." She corrected herself.

"You silly, stupid, little girl..." Shukaku wheezed, speaking through Gaara's mouth and seeming to have some trouble with it. "What did you wish, to kill me...?"

"It would have been a nice bonus." Loor gave dryly. Shukaku seemed incapable of a take-over right now, so she was safe to continue to lean over Gaara's body. "Why are you still hiding in there?"

"Ignorance!" The creature managed to yelp into her face, but his exhaustion increased for it, the body he was pushing to do his bidding laying his head back on the grass and panting. "Chakra... demons need it to sustain themselves... and after possessing a host... we can't stay alive without it... out existence simply is... a mass of chakra... nothing more... Our flesh husks tossed aside... but human bodies are frail..."

"Easy to possess." Loor summed up for him. "But you have to share spaces with your host, who might not be the most agreeable person in the world."

"... Yes..." There was a pause. "...Stupid girl... stupid little girl... females are always so stubborn and dumb... and yet always so captivating..."

"What?!" She snorted, getting right up into his face to glare down at him. "What did you just say?!"

Shukaku brought Gaara to wear a devilish grin that bore fangs. "You... might... have saved yourself... us demons... were always... curious creatures." He laughed slightly. "Always... lustful... why do you think demon lords... demand beautiful women... to be sacrifices...in all the legends...?"

She didn't let up the glare, growling while getting close enough to touch her nose to his. "You're stuck inside a body that hasn't hit puberty." She reminded.

"But I... am much older... and Gaara's clock isn't too far behind... I give him a year or so before he is capable."

She was tempted to punch the creature, but it was Gaara's frail form that would pay the price of any damage she chose to inflict. "You're disgusting."

She yelped as the possession suddenly spread down Gaara's body, his hands coming up and seizing her shoulders with strength she knew he didn't have, Shukaku pushing her down into the soft grass mat that was the forest floor. "We all have... our little problems." He gave, leaning over her with the same grin in place. Held in place, not truly able to damage him, she didn't see point in struggling as he lowered his head to be by her cheek... and froze as she felt him lick her cheek. "Lust for a human..." Shukaku chuckled. "A fetal mistake... my brethren would claim... but you people are such... interesting creatures."

"You had better not hurt him."

"Eh?" Shukaku snorted. "Oh yes... you're taken with the little brat..." He laughed, his breath passing her neck, but she could feel his chakra up close like this. He was at the end of his rope. Much more and, theoretically, the demon would kill himself. On the other hand, much more of this and she would kill him personally.

She felt Shukaku close his teeth on her ear, tugging slightly, chuckling as she tensed up, and then leaving Gaara's body to sink back to his hiding within the boy's mind. The lightweight red head collapsed down onto her, but she could hardly mind it, quickly hugging him and sitting up, holding him against herself. She was shaking a little, and mostly from disgust.

So, she had saved herself from Shukaku, but the way she had wanted to save herself. How had she managed to seduce him??? She had expressed hate, aggression, and a lot of other negative stuff towards him, not to mention tossing him into a river when she knew that the sand raccoon would have issues swimming. It made no sense...

Unless it did.

She wiped off the slime on her cheek, sighing. It made plenty of sense. He was a demon, probably attracted to the fact that she was stubborn as a mule and fearless like a fool. Only the fool would stay over Gaara's body for that whole conversation, stay to understand the beast instead of running and fearing it.

But Gaara... would have no idea what this lust from Shukaku was. She was sure the emotion was a new one, probably pertaining to just tonight, but lust was something to grow, not go away. Shukaku was likely to start influencing Gaara, regardless to the boy's young age and underdeveloped body.

"You're disgusting, Shukaku." She snorted, picking Gaara up. "Positively repulsive."

* * *

At the grand time of two in the morning, most sane people were sleeping. Temari would be one of these sane people, happily passed out on her bed with all of her blankets wrapped around her in a messy manner, plus a few of Kankuro's, since his futon was right next to hers. Of course, in her younger days she had raised two young boys, one with the incapability to sleep, so she was used to be woken up in a violent manner in the middle of the night, or very early in the morning as the case may be.

Still, when there was frantic knocking on the door, Temari rolled off of her futon to the floor, groaning, instead of sitting up at attention. Of course, rolling to the floor took all of Kankuro's blankets with her, so the boy started feeling around for them. "Temari..." He whined, cracking one eye open. "What the hell are you doing...?"

Temari growled as the knocking at the door came again. "Answering the door." She snorted, getting up and dropping the whole mass of blankets onto the beds. She was dressed in a lavender nightshirt and boy shorts, so she highly doubted she'd embarrass the person on the other side of the door, whomever it may be.

The person at the door was far from calm. Temari could tell that when she opened the door, but the hall was dark, so Temari couldn't quite see the figure. So far, she knew the person on the other side was panting and carrying someone else on their back fireman style.

"Temari..."

Temari twitched. "Loor?" Her hand groped about for the entryway light to turn it on. Once she flicked the switch, she could have died of shock.

Loor stood in her sports bra and pants, her usual look, with a red face from running the whole way back to the village from the woods with someone on her back, and then undergoing the feat of finding their hotel room on her own.

And the someone on her back... was Gaara.

The boy wore his all black outfit alone, no scarf, and no gourd. The only extra adornments were the arm weights he had been putting on before.

And he was _asleep._

Temari blinked several times, as if she could change the image of Gaara's relaxed face, his head leaning on Loor's shoulder. "What... the... fuck?"

"Can I come in?" Loor asked, regaining her breath. "He may be light, but I've been carrying him for about an hour."

"Yeah, get in here." Temari gave, moving out of the way and opening the door the rest of the way, shutting it behind Loor, still confused. How could he be...?

"HOLY SHIT!!!"

And Kankuro just saw him.

"Calm down Kankuro, I don't think he's gonna go psycho on us all, he's been sleeping for an hour or so." Loor assured, sitting on Temari's futon to lean back, dislodging Gaara, and sitting up again to look at him.

"But..." Kankuro stared at his little brother. "How?"

"Long story." Loor sighed. "And it kinda started two nights ago."

"What, he started sleeping?!" Temari couldn't help her voice raising, sitting with Kankuro on his bed.

"No." Loor snorted. "But what led up to it did... we were having a discussion... and well... to put it blunt I called him weak."

Both Temari and Kankuro twitched, but Loor held up a hand asking them not to speak or ask questions till she was done, crawling on Temari's futon till she could sit and put Gaara's head in her lap. "My reasoning for this is that... he said to let the strong live and the weak die on their own. He thought it was wrong to fight for anyone or anything but yourself, and I went out of my way to remind him the only way he did, or could, fight was the way he was helping Shukaku exist and continue existing. The real truth was that he's been fighting for the demon his whole life..." She paused. "For every person he had killed, I acclaimed that he became weaker."

"And he didn't kill you?" Temari and Kankuro asked in stereo.

"No, but he did dump me into a very cold river... I was sick the next day, but he came and found me anyway... to request training. He didn't want to use Shukaku's powers anymore. I agreed under a singular condition; no sand during sparring."

"That's impossible, he can't---"

"I know." Loor broke into Kankuro's protest. "So we decided that the only way we could train was to drain both Shukaku's chakra and his own through creating sand and then manipulating it... but it looks like Shukaku needed whatever he was left with to sustain himself, and without the demon keeping him awake, Gaara got a work out doing a show with the sand and passed out a few seconds afterwards."

There was silence for a while before Temari spoke. "It makes sense. Demons don't really need to sleep. Some like to, but they don't need it unless they've completely exhausted themselves, and then they sleep for a while, leaving themselves vulnerable... at least, that's what they say. There are only so many demons in this world, it's not like we can take them into scientific study."

"Who's they?"

"Story tellers, travelers, liquored up failed shinobi." Kankuro interjected. "Everyone has their own theories... though some don't even believe they exist."

"I think we know this one does." Loor sighed, looking down at Gaara and lightly brushing her hand through his soft red hair. "And there's no fighting the fact that Gaara is sleeping after Shukaku got himself drained, so I'd say... Shukaku is also sleeping, probably to replenish his own chakra... the question is how long Gaara is gonna stay out of it."

"He's got a sleep debt that covers at least ten years of his life." Temari laughed slightly. "He could sleep all the way to the chunnins and it wouldn't be enough."

"Yeah..." Loor nodded. She then moved to pick Gaara up again.

"Whoa, whoa, what're ya doin'?" Kankuro questioned.

"You guys got two beds and maybe one extra blanket between you." Loor snorted. "I'm gonna take him back to where I'm staying where there's a bed I'm not using, blankets, and pillows." She raised an eyebrow. "It makes sense."

Temari and Kankuro glanced at each other, and both sighed. It did make some sense... "Alright..." Temari nodded.

"Just behave!" Kankuro chuckled.

Loor shot Kankuro a dirty look, lifting Gaara onto her back again.

The walk back was lonely and silent, thus leaving Loor with her thoughts. Of course, leaving Loor with her thoughts was not exactly the best thing in the world to do. Her brain tended to be a rather frightening place...

Of course the headline in Loor's brainpan was the recently discovered items from Shukaku... items she didn't really want to know about. How could a demon possibly be interested in the same person someone as un-demonic as Lee was interested in? Shukaku had put it off on her stubborn attitude and early bloom, but it still confused her. Who was next to fall in line, Naruto?! When did she become a freakin' player?

What if it was Neji?

She shuddered. That was a bad thought she didn't want nor need on her brain.

The trail of infatuation she seemed to leave behind her everywhere she went was on her mind for only a short time though. Following it was something else.

The mark on her neck.

It had been a long time, or it felt like it had been a long time, since she had been bitten at the Forest of Death part of the chunnin exams. It had been just over a week, actually, but it felt longer. Still, after the strange mark had been sealed... it had left her mind. It didn't bother her, not a twinge, not a prick of pain.

But she remembered what had happened when she woke up from that nightmare the mark had given her... she remembered overcoming and forgetting the pain from freshly broken ribs to attack Kakashi and even land a few blows. That power... it tempted her, but she had heard what Anko had said about the mark... what it could make her do.

If she broke the seal... Orochimaru could use it to control her.

The idea seemed outlandish, even crazy, that she would usually got skeptical and say 'I'll believe it when I see it' but this was one of the cases where she wasn't going to test fate. A man like Orochimaru, she could assume what he would do with such a power over her. She would be set upon his enemies probably, as a disposable commodity. She refused to be a servant to him... no matter how tempting power was.

But... what if she needed to protect someone? Anko had mentioned that emotional extremes could make someone use it too... all it would take is one bad day. Would she even notice if it started to rip the seal apart?

Orochimaru was still here... and she had become so distracted from it. Somewhere, the man was lurking, probably waiting for something... probably waiting for the finals of the chunnin exams, just like everyone else. That was the climax of this act, she could sense it, where Orochimaru would strike again... where this mystery would come together.

She had to wonder what the leader of the village, the Hokage, Sarutobi, was doing about all this. The old man had to be worried sick, and Kony, his grandson, probably already knew about the evil presence in the village. Perhaps Sarutobi had some sort of plan, a trap, like a cat waiting for the rat to show where it's home was and eradicate the infestation... or whatever ate snakes, for that truly was what the Oro-bastard was.

Once again, Loor could see his eyes, the yellow slitted snake eyes that had been burned upon her mind since the night her parents died... She envisioned them clearly, and knew her hate would forever follow those eyes. If his blood never landed on her hands, she would at least have a part in his death, no matter on how small.

She sighed as she made it to the apartment, putting Gaara down to untie her coat from her hips and rummage through the stomach pocket for her key. Just as she found it, she froze.

She could sense it... she wasn't alone.

Her head swung to the left... to see a shadow waiting for her.

* * *

"Fury, what the hell are you doing...?"

"I have a feeling Loor needs to see me, Kiba. You could say my little sister sense is tingling."

"At two in the fucking morning?"

"Two fifteen, and yes. Remember that Loor never sleeps?"

"Oh yeah..."

"Don't worry about me. It's not like someone is out there trying to kill her... I think."

"For all you know, that's what's tickling your sense."

"For all I know, yes, but I also know that Loor can handle herself."

"Usually... Blondie has a good head on her shoulders... so maybe you can just come back to bed."

"...usually is the key word... I have the feeling that she needs me right now, Kiba. A little sister always knows."

"You're not even related by blood."

"Doesn't matter."

"You're crazy..."

"Runs in the family."

"Runs in a family that has no common blood... sure... I'm going back to sleep, Fury."

"I'll be back by dawn... unless I'm not."

"You can take Akamaru with you."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence."


	50. One Step Under Sanity

Three of six

**No ownage **

**Markings- Chapter Fifty  
****One Step Under Sanity**

Loor was like a deer in the headlights, frozen as she stared at the shadow at the end of the lane. It was human, whatever it was, but her eyes couldn't judge what it was, nor who. Her mind assumed it was the villain that had just been on her mind, but to assume that would be to face down the Oro-bastard without a weapon. She didn't want to assume anything...

She pushed he key into the doorknob and faced the shadow apprehensively. The shadow seemed to understand that it had been noticed, and moved closer, though the steps could not be heard.

The shadow drew close enough to be seen... as Fury.

Loor let out a breath, relaxing. "Jeez _Imoto-chan..._" She giggled. "You were beginning to freak me out there."

"You think I felt any better?" Fury asked, wide eyed with a red face. "I ran the whole way here and see some figure standing outside your door with someone on the grou---" Fury broke off mid sentence. She looked over Loor's shoulder, losing all the color in her face. "Loor... is that...?"

"He requested training and passed out during the session." Loor quickly covered, since Fury had never been told about Gaara's demon. "No biggy. Temari and Kankuro are probably sleeping, so I just brought him home with me."

"Okay..." Fury sighed, leaning against the wall. "Man... I was worried for some reason, and I have no idea why... It was all of the sudden I got the 'I need to see Loor' feeling."

"You have a special feeling for when you need to see me?" Loor giggled, unlocking the door and picking Gaara up again, Fury opening the door for her.

"Sorta. I thought you might have been in some kind of trouble."

"Me? In trouble?" Loor laughed sarcastically, leading the way into the apartment and closing the door behind Fury, walking into the open bedroom to put Gaara down on Lee's bed, sitting on the bed to strip him of his shoes. "When does that ever happen?"

Fury followed, leaning in the doorway. "Count the bruises on your ribs."

"Good point." Loor smirked, looking over at Fury while putting both of Gaara's shoes aside. "But there aren't many of those right now... I've been breaking more than I've been getting broken."

"What do you mean by that?" Fury asked, coming further into the room, sitting by Gaara's head as Loor went to get his black T-shirt off of him, folding it and putting it with his shoes.

"I visited Lee today... early in the morning."

"And?"

"_Und..._" Loor switched into her German vocabulary because she was nervous. _"Er kissen mir." _

Fury raised an eyebrow. She knew three of those four words. So far she had 'And he (blank) me.' "Huh?"

Loor started to frown heavily. "He kissed me."

"What??" Fury jumped slightly, wide-eyed again.

"He kissed me." Loor sighed, removing the netted shirt Gaara wore under his black T, leaving the boy in his pants alone and getting Fury's help in putting him under the blankets properly. "We were talking and... well... he was looking depressed so I leaned over him..."

"And??" Fury asked, pulling the blankets down whilst Loor held Gaara, pulling them back up over them once he was put down on the bed.

"And..." Loor shrugged. "I said no."

"No?"

"No." Loor sat at the head of the bed, and though she didn't seem to have much care in putting her hand in Gaara's hair, it was one of the first things Fury noticed. "I don't like him like that... so I pulled away." She snorted, shaking her head. "Anyway, how are things going with you and Kiba? Have you given him the couch yet?"

"Eh...?"

"You know... made him sleep somewhere else because you were mad at him."

"No!" Fury hugged herself. "I don't think I'd be able to sleep without him... I've gotten used to the warmth... it's a wonder we haven't been fighting the past few days."

Loor cocked her head, lightly stroking Gaara's hair. "What do you mean by that?"

Fury blushed slightly. "Oh yeah, I didn't tell you! We've been all over the place..." She giggled, waffling on the spot. "Well... I've bloomed."

_"Was?"_ Loor questioned, meaning 'what' In German.

"I got my first period just a few days back... but you were sick and sleeping, so I decided I'd tell you next time I got the chance."

Loor twitched twice, and then glomped her little sister.

"ACK! Loor!!"

"My itty-bitty _kliner _sister is growing up!" Loor teased. "I could cry!"

"Choking! Not breathing!"

Loor finally let go, laughing her ass off and sitting down again.

Odd that Gaara had not so much as stirred through this noisy display. Fury, of course, noticed this.

"Man, he is _really_ out..." Fury observed. "You sure you didn't kill him during training?"

Loor looked down at the sleeping boy, doing a quick examination. "I'm pretty sure I didn't." She giggled, putting her fingers to his neck just for fun. "No, no, I've got a pulse. He's fine." She laughed, smirking at her sister. "He _is_ an insomniac... he's probably got an age's worth of sleep debt."

"You mean like you, huh?" Fury joked. "I think you do like Lee."

Loor shot a look of poison to Fury. "Your reasoning?"

"That you just like someone else more, and that's why you told him no."

"And who would that be?" Loor snorted, attempting to play dumb while looking back down at Gaara.

"He's in the room." Fury gave dryly. "C'mon Loor, it's a little obvious you like him, God only knowing _why_ you like someone who tries to kill you every other time you see each other." Fury came over and sat next to Loor, looking down at him.

"Fury..." Loor sighed. "He's too young for someone like me."

"He'll grow up."

"I'm impatient..."

"You'll wait for things you want."

"He... has no concept of affection. He's probably never even gotten 'the talk.'"

"Then you get to teach him."

Loor became angry, glaring at Fury. "No, because that would require staying much longer than we plan on, Fury." She felt herself bristling like a pissed off alley cat. "Why do you keep insisting that I have to be attached to someone in this backwards place? So we don't have to go back? Is that it?"

Usually, Fury would back down at this point and meekly mutter 'sorry' under her breath. But, as we all know, this is not usually. Fury still had three more days where she had the right to be constantly pissed off at the world. She used that right well, getting to her feet and glaring down at her elder sister. "No, this is all that 'be true to yourself' crap you give me every damn day at home!" She mimicked Loor, puffing up her chest and tottering around the room. "Don't ignore your emotions, speak your mind, never be afraid to like someone, go _fucking_ bite yourself!"

Loor opened her mouth, but Fury wasn't done yet.

"Oh no you don't! You have some excuse in that deceiving brain of yours, but I already know better. All your logic is for nothing Loor! It's just so you can flit about like a shadow that no one can catch! You know what you are under all that logic, all that information you picked up while you were small and alone when you were a kid!? You're _human,_ with all the emotions attached! You love as much as you hate, and somewhere in that tomboy brain of yours is some romantic fantasy you want to come true, but you're too attached to the thought of it never coming true because that would make it easy, so you'll never let it out!"

Loor, had she been standing, would have taken a step back. Regardless, she stared at Fury like she didn't know her younger sister. Still, as jarring as the girl's behavior was, her words seemed to strike more than the elder sister's nerves.

Who didn't have a romantic fantasy or two hiding away? Loor's were far too highly rated, but they existed.

But she refused them. Over and over again, all of her emotions were refused.

"Fury..."

"Yeah?" Fury's voice still carried tones of anger.

"You... you're right... about a lot of stuff... But I know I'm right too. Somewhere, you want me to get attached." She glared right back at Fury. "I'm telling you right now, if I ever let my emotions loose... it won't be here."

"Why not?"

Loor looked away, her face going soft again, looking at Gaara. "It's not our place... it's so far beyond both of us... I mean, you're dealing with a guy who has a sense of smell like a wolf and talks to his puppy..."

"Hey!" Fury went to defend they boy she shared a bed with. "He's kinda cool that way..."

"And we'll just forget the fact that he's a loose cannon." Loor giggled slightly, shaking her head.

"Yeah, so? I like that too." Fury sat down again. "So, what's wrong with Gaara?"

"A lot of things..." Loor's frown became overruling on her face. "Not that it'd ever stop me from trying to help him..."

"Of course not." Loor smirked. "Loor, you used to think of me as a patient, and now I'm your best friend. If you think of him as nothing more but a person to be treated, where do you think he's gonna end up?"

"But it can't..." Loor's voice was soft, her hands once again straying to Gaara's face and hair. "I'm not going to be able to be here... And if I make any moves and then leave he'll go into recession... probably be worse than where he started."

"What have you been treating him for, just wondering?" Fury asked.

Loor snickered. "Insomnia, for one."

Fury rolled her eyes. "Seriously."

"Alright..." Loor sighed, "Let me think... extreme childhood emotional trauma, mainly. He's got a bunch of secondary stuff, but the trauma problem is probably why he's a psychotic killer."

Fury nodded. She knew these terms. "So... how bad was it on a scale of one to ten? How messed up was it?"

Loor frowned. "I'll give him a nine point nine, since there's always someone who's worse. His mother died giving birth to him, both his father and his uncle tried to kill him, and Gaara killed his uncle... his dad is _still_ trying to kill him, or so I've heard. Kids around him thought he was a freak and hated him... thus he hated. Gaara thought before that he shouldn't exist, so he had to kill people to prove his existence..."

"Wow..." Fury glanced at the boy, noticing that Loor's hands were still on him, gently petting his hair. "So... what does Gaara think now? He hasn't killed too many people recently."

"I don't know... and I don't think he knows either. This is a very delicate stage of treatment... most of his untrue beliefs have been broken down, but he'll go back to them if he's not given anything new to believe in... all of his scars revolve around one thing though... sadly, I think the next stage up for him is becoming a dependent."

Being a dependent was one of Loor's terms; someone basing their own existence on someone else's existence; namely a significant other. Loor didn't like dependents, even though she used to be one. Fury nodded slowly at this, well aware that Loor was hoping she could get Gaara to skip over that stage. Still, she had to put out something she had noticed. "Uh... Loor?"

"Yeah...?"

"I think he already _is_ a dependent... I mean, he tracks you down almost every night, has started looking for you during daylight hours..."

"He's curious." Loor corrected. "He's not a dependent unless he's emotionally inclined, and he's not even capable of that from what I've seen."

"Really? And how easy is it for you to read him, just wondering?"

There was a pause.

"Same scale?"

"Same scale."

"... I'll say a five."

"So fifty percent of his emotional and physical cues, you miss. I'd say that's more than enough." Fury smirked, but then yawned. It was kinda late... or early, depending on how you think about it. "Just... think about it. It's bad enough to see you hurting yourself because you happened to take interest in someone too young for you, but I don't think anyone wants Gaara to recess."

"No..." Loor muttered, watching Fury walk out of the bedroom. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, _Onee-san."_ Fury called back.

Loor heard the door open and shut, and looked back at Gaara. The boy slept peacefully, silently, and she sighed while adjusting a little to have his head in her lap, still caressing his features with her eyes and gently with her fingertips.

_So odd..._ The little voice inside of her said. Loor glanced up so see the mirror image of herself sitting on the end of the bed, looking over the scene. This was the creature Loor would usually fight, but they simply sat together on the bed, not raising war cries or blows. _So, the boy without love somehow finds the girl who doesn't believe in it... And they're yet to kill each other. _

**_So?_** Loor sighed, feeling sorrow. **_It doesn't matter if I embrace my emotions now... he's too young, as am I, or any type of relationship the way I want it. Even if his mind understood it... his body wouldn't. _**

_Wait for him. _

**_I can't... I have other responsibilities. I can't hang around to make sure his recovery goes well, even. I've started something I can't finish... _**

_You had no choice._ Her mirror comforted her, crawling up beside Gaara to gently lean over and put a hand on Loor's shoulder. _You started with sparking his curiosity to save your own life... but you were curious too. Curiosity led to your need to help him. _

**_And then you got involved._** She glared at this dim image of herself. She understood what this flit of her mind was, this strange shadow of her thoughts. It was her emotions, her muse...

Her Lyra.

Lyra was a character before Loor named her own muse, or creative energy, after her. To sum it up quickly, Lyra was a creature of pure emotion, lacking the logic required for every day life. She was Loor's Leo side, emotion, power, and all rash decisions, the side Loor let herself feel when she started getting friends. Before that was the cold and logical Loor, her Virgo side, all rational and well thought out.

Loor had never addressed this voice in her head with a name, but if she had to, it was her Lyra.

_I was always involved._ She cracked a grin. _I always am. _

**_And you keep getting me into trouble._** Loor snorted, looking down again. **_I don't know what to do. _**

_So? Do what you always do, take things as they come and let them fall into place. Don't worry. _

**_Don't worry? _**Loor snorted. **_Yeah right. _**

There was silence, and Loor frowned, feeling tight sadness in her chest, quiet lament. She wanted to stay... but couldn't. Even if she could, she'd still be unhappy, her mind always coming up with things she herself was too young for... and her young mind pulling her towards a partner that she didn't even know she'd want once she was older. Perhaps she only felt this attraction because she was helping him, because he was... broken, in a sense, and she felt she needed to fix him. Once she grew older and her emotional centers developed more, she might not even be attracted to him...

She had to keep reminding herself that she was still under developed, still too young. She always saw herself as an adult, a single parent to everyone she knew, but she had to be reminded that she was still a child.

**_It makes no sense._**

Her Lyra grinned at her, getting on all fours, over Gaara, to look Loor in the face. _It has to do with emotion, Loor. It doesn't have to make sense. _

**_It's a pre-teen to teen infatuation then, and means nothing! _**She lifted her head to growl, not meaning to but changing over to speaking out loud. "The fact that I trained in my sex drive too early has nothing to do with proper interests in boys! And what if I start making moves, teaching him? What then? Did you forget about Shukaku? I do anything and Shukaku takes it as me saying it's okay, and I don't need the demon thinking that I like him! All of it regardless, I stay long enough for Gaara to hit puberty and he learns all about sex while Shukaku posses his body to rape me!"

_You're crying, Loor. _

"I've got a bloody right to cry!" She snapped, panting, having not realized the tears falling down her cheeks. "Not like anyone is here to see it, hear it, or anything!"

_You could wake him up._ They both looked down at Gaara.

"I..." She panted, wiping her tears away before they landed on the red head's face. "I don't think I could..."

Her mirror had no reply, fading away, leaving her alone. Loor sighed as she restored order to her own mind, getting off the bed and pacing up and down the bedroom. She needed some sort of plan to stick to, some idea that would give her comfort, some list of events that were going to happen that would keep her from losing her mind.

Okay... first things first... the chunnins were gonna finish up. That was the first thing she had to prepare for. Any goals she was going to have, they'd be set for that day. It was obvious something was gonna go down on the chunnin finals, she'd just prepare for that...

She'd just be ready for that.

* * *

"Lord Orochimaru..."

"Yes, Kabuto?"

"The jutsu... I've perfected it."

"Perfect... then there's only one thing left to do, which is to wait."

"I think there might be a problem, actually."

"...What?"

"Loor... she managed to get Gaara to sleep..."

"Lord Oro---"

"Shut up! I'm thinking."

"_Gomennaisai..." _

"She's getting in the way again... I might have to deal with her myself... if Gaara is gaining some small sense of sanity, it has to be broken _at _the finals themselves. Before hand and all he'll do is blow our cover. But... If he gains more than a small sense, and then it's broken at the exams, wouldn't his rage be even more powerful...? Yes... I like that idea."

"Orochimaru?"

"Don't worry Kabuto... children will be children... and we can use it to our advantage. Not only will it be useful in getting to Fury, but Loor will be most helpful when it comes to the destruction of this pitiful village... and it's leader."

"New plan?"

"A slight moderation, Kabuto... Find someone insignificant for me by the time of the finals who can perform a decent transformation."

"May I ask the reason?"

"They're going to be the first to die."


	51. The World As We Know It

Four of six

**No ownage **

**Markings- Chapter Fifty One  
****The World As We Know It**

When Loor woke up, Gaara was the first thing on her mind. She sat up quickly out of her bedding on a random adrenaline rush, as if afraid that Shukaku had recovered faster than his host, and she'd be forced to deal with the demon again. Thankfully, she found the boy still asleep on Lee's bed when she threw the door open. He hadn't shifted at all, not so much as an inch, through the night. She stared at him, his pale skin and dark eyes making him look dead.

Slowly, she walked up and looked down at him, brushing a little tuft of his red hair back. How long was he going to sleep? What if he woke up while she was out? She knew she couldn't put her life on hold to take care of him... but she didn't want to leave him alone.

She had to wonder what was going on right now in his dormant mind. Was he dreaming, or was he in too deep for that? If Shukaku did recover faster would he begin to have sanity-ripping nightmares? She did and didn't want to know.

Her hand brushed through his hair again, and she left the apartment to start out her day. Her first stop, as was becoming habit, was the hospital. It was early as it had been the day before, but she still had a good hour before she had to get to the woods for training with Gai's team.

On the way to the hospital, she wasn't sure how she'd greet Lee. After last night, her feelings were all mixed up. She wasn't sure what to say, if she should stick to her guns of treating him like a big brother, or apologize for confusing him and allowing him to show his feelings for her. She knew she'd flirt without meaning to, like she did with everyone, so perhaps it was best to allow Lee to be that way. On the other hand, if she did, Gaara would probably go mad with jealousy once he woke up...

But Loor had to admit that she had feelings for both of them. She assured herself that the only reason she had feelings for Gaara was the fact that she was treating him, but she was pretty sure she was fooling herself.

On the other hand, she _could_ prove herself wrong.

Loor started forming an idea in her head, and she was far too stressed out and emotional for her logical side to even try to step in and say 'hey, wait a tic, this makes no sense!'

Loor's plan was utterly insane, and doomed to failure. She knew it was, but she didn't know at the same time. At the foot of the hospital, she was forming the words in her mouth of how she'd say it. Her mind pictured Lee's reaction, probably a smile, once she had finished with all she had to say. She recited it once, twice, three times as she went up the stairs to the third floor to get to Lee's room.

As she paused outside the door, she felt a bubble in her throat.

Her plan flashed through her mind.

She put her hand on the doorknob...

And let it fall. She started to pace outside of Lee's door, muttering to herself. This had no way of working! All she would do is make it worse! She knew it, of course. For some reason she still wanted to do it. Perhaps it was temptation of instant gratification, the fact that she didn't have to wait for Lee to grow up for her. Was that the only difference between her options? Wait time? How much mental torture she'd have to undergo?

She stopped, bending her head. What was she doing?

Her answer was to her dismay, to her horror.

She didn't know.

Not knowing was the worst in Loor's book. She had to know, she always knew, but here she didn't. She was filled with doubt that made her sick and nervous... and yet she still let herself into Lee's room.

He was lying there, seemingly asleep, frozen in the morning light, black hair dull with oil, skin starting to lose it's golden tone from how long he'd been stuck inside. His head was turned away from her as she entered, but he showed to be awake as she shut the door, looking over.

Awkward silence.

"Um..." Loor sighed. "Good morning."

"...morning..." Lee muttered, looking at the ceiling again.

"Did you..." She paused, swallowing that bubble again. "Uh... sleep well last night?"

"Fine." He said shortly. He was avoiding her gaze.

She sighed, pulling up the chair and sitting at his bedside. Both sounds were loud in the room, like shattering glass, disturbing the silence. She didn't like this silence, but it was her fault in the end, wasn't it?

This wasn't like him. Lee wasn't one to hold back his actions... ever, not unless under the orders of his sensei. He never gave up on things...

She growled, getting up out of the chair she had just sat down in, standing over him and glaring down. She wouldn't let his eyes escape her gaze, grabbing his chin and making him look at her.

"Stop acting." She snorted. "I don't want you to stop being yourself just because of yesterday."

"I have no choice." He gave back. "Being myself means showing my emotions, an action you do not seem to condone."

"I condone it as long as you know it's not going anywhere!" She was half onto his bed now, staring down at him as if in earnest. "And I don't even know about that! Yesterday I was all mixed up, and now I'm even worse! I'm losing my grip on everything, and I don't need you acting around me to add onto my burden." She panted slightly, and then lowered her head, backing off a little. 'I-I'm sorry... I must be confusing you... I don't mean to be..."

On a push of willpower, Lee sat up in bed to look at her, and lightly put his hand under her chin, lifting up her head to look at her. "I thought you knew who you wanted."

"Me too..." She tilted her head into his hand, nuzzling his palm, looking for comfort. "And... I do know... but it's the problem with wanting but not being allowed to have."

"Why not?"

"Lee... you know what I'm like, right? He's too young for someone like me, and I'm gonna be out of this village soon anyway... regardless of who I want... I can't have either of you." She returned the hand, resting on his neck, rubbing lightly, and sighing as they both bent their heads, putting their foreheads together. "But I know I can't control my flirtations... and my emotions are further out of my reach. The worst part is my emotions want to give people what they want, and I can't do that for either of you. I know you want more than a one-month fling..."

"And what does Gaara want?" Lee gave as she trailed off, as if afraid to talk about the red headed youth.

"The love he's never known." She frowned, feeling all of the confused chaos inside of her, like needles poking into her stomach and giving her little shots of ice cold before pulling back out, letting her bleed. "I've told him about it... helped him realize that there's another way to go about the world besides killing everyone he meets... and now he expects me to give it to him, and I can't because of his age... and my own. We're both too young to love that way."

There was silence.

"Age has nothing to do with love, Loor."

She lifted her head slightly, meeting his eyes. "Eh?"

"Love is an emotion all humans are capable of at birth, though the types of love range here and there. One thing holds true though; a human is capable of all love besides the physical love for their entire lives... though we have no judging of when we are or are not in love while we are young."

"You think so?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes."

"Forgive me for being a skeptic."

"I will." He then gave a small smile. "You will also have to forgive me. If you do not want me masking my behavior or emotions, I might end up competing with Gaara."

"For me?" She snorted. "Don't I feel special?" She said this with heavy sarcasm. "On the other hand, he'd probably kill you."

"You've stopped him before." He batted back.

"Yeah, you hardly know the nature of _how_ I stopped him."

"I would be willing to listen."

"By being affectionate." She smirked. "Poor kid just needed a hug. I talked him out of the room by saying that killing you would be hurting me because you were my friend... and he backed off, and once we were out of the room, I hugged him."

Lee nodded slowly. She wouldn't read into the twinge of jealousy she saw on his face, just watching. He seemed to go into thought, and finally sighed.

"Loor... may I ask a question?"

"Sure." She shrugged. It couldn't be much worse than the question he asked yesterday, though if he was asking before hand it very well could be.

"Yesterday... did you enjoy it?"

Of course, pertaining to yesterday it could have been a lot worse than that.

Loor, currently, didn't have the capacity to lie. "Yes."

The singular word put a small smile on Lee's face, along with blush across his cheeks. "I was worried... it was my first time."

"I could tell." Loor giggled, getting up off of his bed and going to put the chair back by the wall. Her visit should be ending soon. "Don't worry about it, and remember that confidence is key. As long as you remember that, you'll make some girl very happy someday."

"Perhaps she will be you."

She smirked, ruffling his hair. "Love the positive thinking, buddy-boy, but I don't wanna keep your team waiting."

He nodded slowly, grabbing her hand before she turned to leave, tugging her down enough to hug her around the shoulders.

"Get some rest while I'm gone."

"I will."

* * *

When Fury woke up, it was slow. She was used to waking up slowly. She believed that Kiba had honestly perfected it, not being officially awake till about half way through training on most days, sleepwalking through most of his morning. She was still working on it, but she tended to be a klutz when she was fully awake, she didn't want to think of how bad she'd be when she was only halfway there.

Cracking one eye open, she was contented to know that Hana was not in the room, turning around in her spot to face Kiba, who got a small smile as she nuzzled under his neck. "Good morning..." She murmured into his shoulder.

He growled slightly at her moving, bending to the side to bite her ear lightly. "Go back to sleep..."

"Shouldn't we be up?" She asked, pulling her ear away from where his fangs could reach them, butting her head further into his neck to push his head back to where it was.

"No." He yawned, shifting slightly and hugging her around the middle to bring her a little closer, seeing as she was warm.

"Why not...? How do you know what time it is?"

"Hana isn't in here... if she was, it would be time to get up."

She hummed, nodding, contented for now. Whatever time it was, Akamaru was still sleeping too, so there was no real reason to move at all. Sadly though, whether Fury liked it or not, she was awake. As Kiba sunk back to being asleep, she figured out that she didn't like being awake at all.

Being awake let her think.

She didn't want to think, but her brain suddenly decided it was going to talk to her. As perfect and wonderful this warm little scene was, curled up with Kiba, her brain had a problem with such perfection.

Her brain had to kill the moment... and ask her a question.

What was going to happen when she left?

Loor seemed to be making it rather clear that it was not an if, but a when, as much as Fury wished it were another way. Sadly, she had no answer to that question. She was so... comfortable here, accustomed to waking up every morning and saying hello to the Inuzuka family with their dogs and upside-down red triangle tattoos on their cheeks, used to going to training with Kurenai.

The image of herself with a headband had crossed her mind more than once.

Fury... Fury the genin. One has to admit that the concept was interesting, at the least. She would finally be strong... she was already getting strong, a strength she never knew she had in her, one she thought she'd never have. Her odd and overwhelming fear of death had been waning in the past weeks, as she could fear it less.

She was beginning not to care what Loor wanted to do... this place was the best thing that had every happened to her.

Fury twitched as she heard the door open, closing her eyes quickly and trying to appear asleep as she knew Hana entered the room.

"G'mornin' kiddies. C'mon Kiba, don't make me go and get a bucket of water to wake you two up."

Kiba groaned lightly, sighing and lifting his head to see over Fury. "Go away..." He sighed, yawning and then bearing the fangs among his teeth.

"As soon as I see signs of life from our new bloomer." Hana assured. "Fury-chan, get your bum outta bed."

"Wat ah do wit mah bum is none of yer business!" Fury gave back in a cockney accent.

"It is when Kiba's late for practice." Hana giggled, shaking her head and leaving the room. Fury sighed, rolling away from Kiba and taking the blankets with her.

"Hey!" He grabbed for the tail of the comforter, yanking hard to pull her, and the warmth, back.

"Hey what?" She yawned, getting pulled back into his chest. "You can afford to be on time every now and then."

"But I don't feel like it..." He groused, grabbing her so she couldn't roll again, lightly kissing her forehead to bid her good morning. "I've got a nice comfy bed, a warm groove, and the most hug-able person I know with me. I see no reason to be on time or early. Actually, it's all the more reason to be late." He snickered. "Or call in sick."

She butted her head against his chest, giggling. "Dog."

He smirked. "We're known for our loyalty, not our activity. And the bigger the dog, the less active they are."

"Really?" Hana's voice called on the other side of the door, and both Kiba and Fury looked over as she opened it to look in again. "In that case, Kiba, you should be hyper all the time."

Kiba growled at his sister as she left again, and Fury started laughing as she realized the perverted undertones to those lines. "Ouch."

"She's got nothin' to talk about..." He sighed, finally getting moving, feeling around the area behind him for his coat before he noticed that Fury had once again stolen it in the middle of the night and was currently wearing it over her trainer bra that she wore to bed. She giggled whilst handing it over, finding her own pants and pulling them on.

"She hasn't even seen it since I was in diapers..." She heard Kiba mutter while the boy went looking for the shirt he usually wore under his coat.

"Didn't need to know that." Fury gave, giggling, doing a quick stretching session.

Kiba shrugged, sighing, before noticing something.

"...where's Akamaru?"

Both of them started looking about, but the dog was not found till Kiba went to leave the room, the white and brown pup barreling down the hall and jumping up onto his owner.

"Whoa, jeez Akamaru, calm down!" Kiba laughed slightly, petting the dog as the puppy frantically licked his face. "Why the heck were you out there?"

Add in about two moments of whining and woofing by Akamaru.

"Wha'd he say?" Fury asked when Kiba started laughing again.

"Akamaru tried to follow you last night and got locked out. Hana just let him back inside."

"Akamaru!" Fury yelped, rubbing the dog's head and shaking hers. "You silly... pup."

From there, the morning progressed normally. Fury and Kiba proceeded from getting dressed to eating something to walking to the training grounds. Said walk was short and uneventful, seeing as Kiba's family lived pretty close to the woods (One shouldn't be surprised with that fact, seeing how animal like the whole family was.)

Kurenai was already waiting, sitting on one of the vertical posts that were set in the ground. Fury usually shrugged said posts off, seeing as they had always been there. They were three wooden logs that never required much attention to, besides the one time Loor got tied to one by Kakashi sensei.

Now the center post of the three had a paper target attached to it that looked like a dartboard. This was the same post that Kurenai was sitting on top of, and she had one of her tools out, a kunai, flipping it in her hand while smiling at her incoming students.

"Morning you two." Kurenai greeted.

"Morning..." Kiba looked around. "Where's Shino?"

"Visiting Hinata." Kurenai shrugged, jumping down from the post. "He'll be back soon enough, Kiba." She then turned her attention to the other female in the clearing. "Fury, here."

Kurenai had reached back and drawn out a weapons pouch much like the ones everyone else wore, tossing it at the brown and silver haired youth. Fury caught it, flipping the flap back to see that the pouch was fully equip with sinbons, shurikin, and kunai. "For practice?" Fury asked.

"To keep." Kurenai corrected. "It's yours."

"What?" Fury yelped. "Kurenai sen--"

"Don't worry about it." Kurenai smirked. "Ninja tools come cheep around here, like picking stray kittens off the street. The pouch should last you a while. Kiba'll show you how to clip it on."

"Hey, Kurenai." Kiba called attention. "You sure you wanna trust her with sharp objects? I mean, I hardly trust her with a butter knife in the morning."

Fury glared at the dog-boy, giving him a quick jab in the ribs, making Kurenai smirk and shake her head.

"Kiba, I trust her more than I trust you. If someone as ADHD as you can throw smoke bombs and shurikin, I'm pretty sure Fury can carry a few sharp needles around." Kurenai then rolled her eyes. "I trust you with food pills too... I can understand why Asuma sometimes thinks I'm insane."

"Food pills?" Fury questioned.

"A different tool that me and Akamaru use together." Kiba explained, reaching into his own weapons pouch, which was always on his leg, and drawing out a little black capsule. "They're tools of war, really. Increase in strength and various abilities, but the drawback is that they tend to mess with your brain... you might attack your own. If I take one and give one to Akamaru here..." Kiba scratched the dog behind the head while putting the pill away. "We have a secret taijutsu that we perform together called 'Fang over Fang.'"

"I think you told me about that one..." Fury muttered. "Don't you use a different jutsu before that?"

"Yeah, man-beast transformation. Makes Akamaru look like me for a while, he can even talk!"

Kurenai shook her head, rolling her eyes. "And the team always thought one of him was _more_ than enough."


	52. Scars Remind

Five of Six

**No ownage **

**Markings- Chapter Fifty Two  
Scars Remind**

"Neji, you're awfully early."

Neji's snow-white eyes opened to glance to his side, where Loor was entering the training grounds. He gave her a quick glance, and then closed his eyes again, as if she were not worth his attention. "Early is the best form of on time."

She snorted at him, shaking her head as she entered the clearing, leaning against a tree and yawning. She knew he was looking for a rise, but she was stressed out enough right now, she didn't need him messing with her. Retorting would just be asking for more annoyance.

"I might have to question you, Loor. You're late more often than on time." He opened one eye with a superior smirk across his lips.

She snorted at him. "I was already awake, thought I might as well come down rather than try and go back home. And before you can even ask why, I was doing something you're yet to do, but should do."

Her barbed words sparked a slight interest, the other white eye coming open. "That being?"

"Visiting _your_ team mate." She growled, sitting down against the tree. "You work with him and yet the girl who isn't even a ninja is the person who sees him the most."

He looked at her for several moments, as it was obvious she was angry, even itching for a fight.

He kept his smirk.

"Lee fought his destiny." Neji said simply. "He was punished for that. I suspect that if he continues to fight the powers of fate that it will be the death of him, which will be for the best. If I visited, it would give him some sense of hope that he shouldn't have."

He saw it flash past her face, and she got to her feet. His provocations were working. "What have I told you about where you can stick your stupid fate crap?!" She snarled. "Look at me! How the fuck could fucking fate bring me here, doing these things, wondering if someone is gonna kill me every other day!?"

"Someone should." He remained monotone, sure she'd strike soon. "Fate didn't bring you here, only your own misguided thoughts."

"And how the holy hell would you know?!" She was stomping towards him, balling her fists, and feeling the blood drain from her skin and into her muscles, prepping for an attack. "You don't know what happened to me, much less than I know what happened to you to make you have a stick up your ass all the time!"

"Shall we compare stories?" Neji teased, facing her angry tirade head on. "See who has it worse? What is it, you hopeless case? Did your family beat you? Did they push you to the end of your rope? Did they _die?_"

Okay, _THAT_ was asking for it.

Loor felt a twitch go through her body as what little sanity she had preserved through the night before shattered. Suddenly, she was right in Neji's face, one knee up and thrusting into his chest, a burst of spontaneous chakra moving her faster than the eye could see. He had been expecting an attack, but not one so quick. He had expected this to be a toying game, dishing out insults along the way, but his last statement had struck too much of a nerve.

And now her knee had struck not his hard ribs, but the soft part of his stomach, making him thankful that he didn't eat that morning.

"Yeah." She hissed in his face. "They did."

With that, she made a quick turn, throwing him around and down. Neji had been shocked, but he caught himself and recovered to his feet, panting since the wind had been knocked out of him. Still, he backed off as she bristled to intimidate him.

"I... I'm sorry."

She growled, glaring at him and then smoothing herself out of her fighting stance, leaning back on a new tree. "Yeah right... sure you are."

"I didn't know."

"No one fucking knows." She glared. "And you don't care. Don't go changing your behavior just because I'm an orphan... or any reason." Her frown gave out to a malicious grin. "Or I'll shove my knee up your ass next time to give the stick company."

He stared for a few moments more, and then sighed, going across the clearing and standing away from her. Of course she had sparked curiosity, but he wasn't going to ask. Another fight would probably start, and it was getting to the time that training was supposed to start. If Gai and TenTen showed up to him and Loor fighting _again, _Gai would find some fitting punishment that involved running an uncanny number of laps around the whole village.

He was right too. After several moments of silence, TenTen wandered in through the brush. Her eyes looked first to Neji, giving a slight smile as he noted her with a nod, and then to Loor, who was glaring up at some random tree branch.

"Uh... is something wrong?" She asked after a few moments.

"Nothing." Loor snapped before Neji could say anything.

"Well... you guys aren't fighting." TenTen pointed out. "Either the world is ending or something is wrong."

"Then the world is ending."

Both girls snapped a look over to Neji, Loor with her mouth half open to say just about the same thing in a much meaner tone.

Did Neji just speak up for Loor?

Said blond glared at him. "Thank you, numb nuts." She gave, looking back at TenTen. "What he said."

TenTen's eyes dashed between the two again, and then she sighed, nodding. "Alright... Well, we might as well get to work. Hey, Neji, what are you doing while me and Loor are doing target practice?"

He gave a dismissive shrug, white eyes closed again.

"Well you better figure out something before Gai gets here, or he'll come up with something for you not being prepared."

"How bad could that be?" He asked.

"You tell me." TenTen shrugged. "I passed him on the way here... he was walking on his hands again."

Loor's left eye twitched slightly. Walking on his hands...? She didn't dare ask.

"Did he lose another bet to Kakashi?" Neji questioned, talking like his sensei walking around on his hands was a normal occurrence. Maybe it was.

"Might of." TenTen giggled, prepping a target for Loor to throw things at. Loor, left several paces away from the targets, looked back at Neji.

"Hey, bright eyes, maybe once I start hitting the stationary targets you can come help us."

"And how would I do that?"

"By acting as a moving target." Loor smirked, laughing slightly as the boy sighed, shaking his head.

TenTen had just finished prepping the target, handing off a weapons pouch to Loor, as Gai entered the area.

"Good morning everyone!" The man in green spandex greeted.

Sure enough, he was walking on his hands.

"_Guten Morgen." _Loor greeted, going over to her German vocabulary, trying not to laugh.

"Morning sensei." TenTen flashed Loor a smile, putting a finger to her lips as if to say laughing was a bad idea and would probably put the whole team up for one of Gai's special training activities.

Neji, as usual, ignored the entrance of his sensei.

Loor watched as Gai sprang off of his hands, landing on his feet and grinning at the three teens in the clearing. "Are the two girls starting without me?" He questioned in good humor, smiling as TenTen nodded. He then turned his direct attention to the only other boy in the area. "Neji, what are you doing today?"

There was a pause as Neji opened one eye to look at his sensei, as if royally irked by the man's energy. "Byakugan training... I'll be fine by myself."

"You've been doing that a lot." Gai noted, nodding. "But we should do one on one sparring later."

"I don't need your help. Naruto is already a weakling, I doubt he's going to get much better before the finals come around." Neji's words were sharp, and he gave them right before turning and walking away from the group for his own individual training.

"Wow..." TenTen muttered. "I admit Neji can be an ass... but that was a little over the top."

"Something is on his mind..." Gai muttered. "He wasn't that bad yesterday..."

Loor shook her head, keeping her mouth shut.

"TenTen," Gai gave, looking over. He opened his mouth to say something, but then shut it again as he focused upon Loor, who was still holding TenTen's weapon pouch in her hands. "Wait here... I need to speak with Loor for a few moments."

"Uh... okay." TenTen nodded, gently taking her pouch back from Loor as the blond girl went to follow Gai, who was quickly sinking back into the woods.

Several yards in, he stopped and turned around. Loor also stopped, about two feet behind him, and stared up at the tall jump-suit wearing ninja.

There was silence.

"...so... what?" Loor finally asked, raising an eyebrow.

"What happened with Neji?"

She changed the raised brow to a furrowed one. "Nothing."

"Your seal is tattered."

At first, she had no idea what he was talking about. She almost asked for him to say that again, but then realized it. The three prong seal around the curse mark on her shoulder... she had started to break it when she was raging at Neji. Once her mind remembered that little fact, she slapped a hand over the mark. "Oh crap!" She muttered, bending her head but unable to properly see it. After failing a few times, she looked back up at Gai, who looked like he was expecting some sort of explanation.

"We were arguing..." Loor muttered. "And he struck a nerve."

"Which one?"

"Never mind it." She snorted, turning to walk back to the training grounds. "I'll be careful."

"Loor."

She turned her head back. "What?" She snapped.

A second later she had to turn the rest of herself to face him, catching something that had been thrown at her with shock. "_Was ist das...?" _She muttered, looking at the object he had given her with a curious look. She knew what it was, actually. She was just a little confused on why he was giving her one.

"It's all yours Loor. Just try not to throw anything at Neji."

In Loor's hand was a weapons pouch, fully stocked.

* * *

Fury was grinning.

One might question why, but not for long. Your answer would land with the target that had been pinned up to the posts in the clearing.

The target that was now in shreds, the area that had been the bull's eye being full of holes. Fury, of course, was quite proud of herself, going up to yank the kunai and sinbons out that she had used. Her aim was going from good to better, showing that her strength was defiantly in long range.

"Not bad." Kiba commented, trusting her enough with the sharp objects now to be sitting on top of the post that had the target tacked to it, an action he would have not done that morning. Akamaru was sitting in Kiba's hood, barking and wagging his tail.

"You don't say?" Fury giggled, putting the weapons away in the pouch that was now strapped to her leg as she yanked them out of the target. "Mr. I don't trust Fury with a butter knife."

"I still don't." He chuckled. "With aim like that, you could throw it at someone and kill them with it."

She glared at him, and then grabbed his leg, yanking hard enough to bring him down form where he was sitting. Kiba landed hard just as Kurenai and Shino, the creepy bug guy, entered the area.

Kurenai looked at the target and smiled. "Not bad at all." She complemented, then looking beyond Fury to Kiba. "Uh...? Do I want to know?"

"No." Fury gave, shaking her head and putting on her innocent face, which was one of the faces she was very good at making.

Kurenai looked like she was going to second-guess Fury anyway, but just smiled lightly and waved it off. "Well, that's pretty much it for today... just one other thing, Fury."

"Eh?" Fury asked, turning around and helping Kiba up off of the ground, looking back at Kurenai at the same time. This meant she kept pulling even after Kiba was on his feet again. Kiba, seeing a chance for pay back, let go of her, letting her fall on her own ass.

"OW!" Fury yelped in surprise. "Kiba!"

"You yanked me down." Kiba shrugged. "Seems fair."

Kurenai sighed, clearing her throat. "_Anyway,_" She said to gain attention again. "Fury, I've talked with a few people and pulled a few strings. Till Hinata is out of the hospital, you're part of our team."

All three people snapped a look over to Kurenai.

"Say what?" Kiba asked as Fury got up from the ground. "She's not even a genin, what if we go on something dangerous?"

"Then she'll go with us." Kurenai answered. "This lets us take missions again. Anyway," She cracked a smile at Kiba. "When was the last time they gave a genin team something dangerous?"

"What about that C rank thing that Naruto's team went on?" Kiba snapped. "That thing turned out to be more dangerous than a rabid wolf!"

"That was a dishonest villager." Kurenai returned. "And why don't you let Fury talk? She's got the final say, not you."

Kiba looked like he was going to argue... but backed down, looking at Fury, who nudged Kiba in the shoulder before looking at Kurenai.

Being part of a ninja team... taking missions. The thought of it almost made her giddy.

"Hell yes." Fury gave, grinning.

"What??" Kiba looked at her.

She giggled, nudging him again while petting Akamaru, who looked all sorts of happy that she said yes. "C'mon, I'm not gonna learn much more without _doing_ something. How bad can it get?"

"Don't ask that question..." Kiba muttered, sighing and lowering his head.

"You're being really protective, _Scruffy._" Fury teased, using the nickname he didn't like. "I thought you said it would do me well to grow up a little and take a bite outta something."

He nodded, sighing. "Yeah... I guess. But I'm allowed to worry a little bit, right?"

She snickered. "Right." She started tugging on him, going to leave the area. "I say we go back to your house and eat something."

"Good idea."

The two started walking slowly, away from the training ground and towards Kiba's house. Fury nuzzled up to him pretty quickly as he put an arm over her shoulder.

"Hey... Fury?" Kiba asked, half way there.

"Hm...?"

"You said that you wanted a dog, right?"

"Um... yeah, why?"

He was looking forward, reaching into his hood to scratch his own puppy. "I donno... just a random question."

She snorted. "I don't believe you."

He looked down at her, smirking. "Is this the face of someone who would lie to you?"

She giggled. "Uh.. yeah."

He pouted at her. "Meanie."

"Says you." She pushed off his arm, nudging him in the ribs.

"Yeah." He returned the nudge as a slight push, smirking as she had started to walk faster. "It's 'cause you are."

She pushed him back, harder, both of them going from walking to jogging. "You're meaner."

"I don't think so!" He laughed slightly, picking it up to run, giving her a good shove that almost took her off the path. "You're the one who painted my toe nails pink!"

She managed to catch her balance, dashing to get even with him again, throwing her shoulder into trying to push him, but he didn't budge as much as she did. "You're the one who had your dog piss on my sister!"

Kiba opened his mouth for a come back... but didn't have one. Growling, he grabbed her arm and skidded to a stop, yanking her back and grabbing her in a hug. They were just outside the house now, so it was okay that they had stopped for a few seconds.

"Fine, I'm mean." He smirked, kissing her forehead. "Call it beauty and the beast then."

She blushed lightly, looking up at him, giggling. "Or Scruffy and Grandma." She laughed.

He started chuckling too, leaving his arm over her shoulder and heading inside.


	53. Time To Heal

Alrighty then, now for Loor's major rant of the week… month… thing! I'm very sorry for all the stalls and such, and don't expect much of a speed up over winter break. My brother is getting married this Friday and I have my hands full with five THOUSAND other things, like homework.

If you still manage to get the time to read and review, the author will love you to death.

**No ownage. **

On with the fucking fic!!!!

**Markings- Chapter Fifty Three  
****Time To Heal**

"Hey, TenTen?"

"What Loor?"

Loor growled, whipping three of the little throwing stars from her weapons pouch at the target that was placed several yards away now. "How much longer are we gonna have to do this?" She asked, watching as only one of her shots hit, and on the edge of the target, the other two landing in the grass. "I'm better off getting up close with my enemies, really."

TenTen dashed from Loor's side, retrieving the shurikin for her, tossing them back so that they landed in the ground at the blond's feet. "Yeah, but no shinobi gets through on brute strength alone. When you surprise your enemy, its better to take them out from a distance than engaging in hand to hand combat."

Loor sighed, picking up the sharp little tools, putting two of them away and spinning the third on her finger. She wanted to mention that, fighting Orochimaru, the man could probably catch whatever she threw at him, but Gai's team had no idea of Loor's predicament. Mentioning the Oro-bastard would just cause panic where it wasn't needed. Instead, she just said, "I prefer hand to hand."

TenTen nodded. "I know... though that wooden practice stave I've seen you with is no good."

"I've got a better one at home..." Loor huffed.

"No, I mean the fact that its wood." TenTen smirked as Loor gave her a look. "You should be practicing with the real thing, or maybe something heavier than the real thing, so you can open up a real can of whoop-ass when you need to."

"I don't _have_ the real thing."

"But you have an idea of what you want the real thing to be, right?" TenTen was smirking.

"Of course I do." Loor sighed, shrugging. "It's about this long..." She held her hands out, seeing as her stave was equal to her arm span. "And I'm assuming it would be some type of polished hard wood, good groves sanded in for holds, with a blade at either end."

TenTen smiled, nodding. "Got ya."

"What's the smile for...?" Loor asked, suddenly wondering why TenTen was asking.

"You're talking to a weapon's mistress, Loor." TenTen giggled. "If you can dream it, I can get it for you."

Loor's jaw nearly dropped into the grass in nerdy euphoria. "Really? I mean, you would? That would be amazing!"

"No problem." TenTen assured. "Just as long as you don't attack Neji with it."

"Promise." Loor smirked. "I plan to take him out with my bear hands."

"Hey." TenTen nudged Loor. "Be nice to him... he's not the nicest kid, but he's got a few reasons---"

Loor cut in, quick to show off how easy Neji's actions were to read. "His father is dead, I assume?"

TenTen was taken aback. "He told you?"

"No." Loor grinned. "He acts like it. All this fate and destiny crap he keeps trying to pull makes me think that whatever happened to his dad, Neji was old enough to have a firm belief that it wasn't fair, but blames it on forces beyond his control to make himself feel better."

"Wow..." TenTen the nodded. "Well... you're right." There was a pause. "Hey... I know you probably don't want me asking, but what happened this morning between you two?"

Loor rolled her eyes. "We were arguing." She stated.

"What about?"

"Not much. It was more like just for the sake of it. He struck a nerve that was a little too close to home, but it's how I know his dad is dead for sure. I think he must have been thinking about it when I got here... because he wanted to fight too. He wanted to prove that his life was worse than mine... and ended up finding out something he didn't know."

TenTen looked a little confused. Loor was being rather cryptic. "What... What did he find out?"

"Never mind it, but he started acting different the second he heard it, which is how I know it was the male parent. If someone had lost the female parent, they would have shrugged it off. Either way, I'm guessing he doesn't spend a whole lot of time with dear ol' mum."

"Acting different?" TenTen nodded slightly, thinking about it. "Like getting me to shut up when I was asking you about it before?"

"Exactly." Loor shook her head. "Its like he suddenly has some sort of respect for me... which I'm not going to stand for. He can't just change his behavior and thoughts because of what a person has gone through. He can't respect me for that..."

"What is he allowed to respect you for?"

"When I can rub it in his face that he isn't my better." She then smirked at TenTen. "I will earn respect, not have it handed to me."

"You're a tough person to figure, Loor." TenTen sighed, rubbing her head. "On the other hand, so is everyone on this team, so you'll fit in fine." She then glanced up, noting it was past noon. "Oh man... we stayed late."

"No biggy." Loor shrugged. "Need any help taking the targets down?"

"No, I got it." TenTen started walking over to the targets to put them away. "If you want to go set things straight with Neji, now would be the time to do it. He should still be out there somewhere."

"Right..." Loor sighed, looking in the direction Neji left by. "Might as well."

"Good luck."

_"Danke..." _Loor muttered, a sarcastic thank-you in German. She started walking in the same direction Neji went, looking around every time she thought she saw something, sure that the white eyed boy was probably be lurking about somewhere. Her assumptions were wrong, though. When she found him, it was not running about.

He was standing among the trees, eyes open but seeming to be looking at more than what was in front of him. As she wandered closer, she could see the veins leading to his eyes...

They were all swelled up, pulsing. His eyes were wide, the white seeming sharper. She'd seen that before, though only once. That was the way Hinata looked while using the byakugan, her special ability that came from the Hyuga bloodline, the same bloodline that Neji was a part of, being her cousin.

That would mean that he already knew she was there. The byakugan being activated meant he could see all the way around himself, three hundred sixty degrees, plus chakra networks within people's bodies.

If he wanted to, he could try and kill her. She remembered that as she got closer.

"What do you want?" He asked as she came closer.

"What happened to your father?"

She watched, standing to his side. Of the half of his face that she could see, the swelling of his veins faded, and his head turned towards her. "TenTen told you?"

"No." She smirked. "It doesn't take a fancy bloodline to be able to see things the untrained eye can't."

He shrugged. "He died for my clan."

"But you don't think it was fair."

"Destiny is not fair."

She snorted. She wasn't going to get anything out of him this way.

"What happened to your parents?"

She gave him a look. "Not just my parents, Neji." She sighed. "My family..."

He blinked, not showing pity. She was pretty sure he knew that pity would get him; a black eye.

"All of them?"

"I don't live with my extended family... my parents and my two older siblings." She then looked at him. "I'm not here to compete about who had a worse past."

"Then why are you here?" He asked, his voice oddly gentle. This is what was pissing her off. The Neji she was getting to know would have said something much more harsh to get the same point across.

"That." She growled. "You heard that I was an orphan and started doing favors. I don't give a shit on why you're doing it, I just want you to stop."

"Why?" He asked.

She waited a second, expecting something sharp to come after the question, but he just stood.

"Because you don't respect me and we both know it." She finally growled. "So would you cut the crap and go back to acting like an asshole already?! You know I've got you on my hit list, and it's tough to fight someone who won't even go out of their way to piss you off anymore!"

"You want me to make you angry?"

She paused. That did sound rather crazy, but it was the way their interaction had started out, and that was the way she liked it. "I want you to be your arrogant self until I actually _do_ earn your respect."

"You are insane." He shook his head. "But have it as you like it... hopeless case."

"Blind man." She returned, having finally come up with a nickname for him.

"I'm not blind, more like the opposite."

"Beg to differ." Loor snickered, turning to be on her way. "If you believe in fate, you have to be blind... following a path that's been laid out for you."

Neji was silent as she walked away, and she hoped she had stuck some cord or another that would get the damned boy to think. She was about to turn her thoughts to what she was going to do, now that she was off training, had no idea where Fury was, and it was not yet dark enough for her night sessions, when Neji did speak up.

"Loor!"

She stopped in her tracks, looking back at the white-eyed boy. "Eh?"

"Tonight, you will be training as you always do?"

She raised an eyebrow at his question. This kid knew about her midnight sessions? "Maybe..." She gave, suspicious. "Who wants to know?"

"I do." Neji suddenly gave one of his superior smirks. "If you are... and you don't mind getting beaten, I should do a little one-on-one practice for the upcoming chunnin finals. Though you are dangerously under trained..." He gave a slow smile, very aware of how to push her buttons. "You might have a chance if _I go easy on you._"

Loor's head had been the only thing she had turned to look back at him. Just her head, and it had only turned half of the way, not really looking at him. Still, at these words flowing out of his mouth, she whipped around the rest of the way with electricity crackling in her eyes. Had she her practice weapon with her, she would have whipped it out to play a little game of 'Neji the Piñata' Sadly she didn't, leaving her to get up in his face and glare at him.

"If you go easy on me..." She snarled. "I'll kill you."

Neji's eyes stared into hers, and though his were completely white, she notice them flicking to one side for a moment, then back to her. "As you wish." He gave.

She growled, mimicking him in a high tone and then turning to stamp off, obviously pissed off and having nothing to take it out on. She didn't notice his eyes flicking to one side, namely towards her curse mark. The seal had tattered more in the exchange, but she didn't care, snorting and looking around every corner for someone to scream at.

She was left with slowly running out of steam as she walked to the hospital. She had nothing better to do, she might as well visit Lee.

This was the first time she visited during normal hours, and the nurses weren't too keen on letting her in. Still, they couldn't really ban her from the hospital, so she was allowed in with a 'don't try anything funny' look from everyone. It was taken with several rolls of the eyes and heavy sighs before she finally got up to Lee's room, getting the evil eye from everyone.

Thankfully, Lee didn't have a nurse tending him, so she was given that slight reprieve. Lee was awake, and out of bed, to Loor's surprise.

He was hobbling around the room on his crutches. When Loor walked in, he looked at her and gave a small smile. The smile was fatigued, as if just limping about the room was a huge effort for him, but a smile none of the less.

"How are we this afternoon?" She asked, sitting on the foot of his bed as he got back to hobbling up and down the room. His bad leg was held bent by a brace as the other leg worked with the crutches for him to move about.

"Good." Lee answered. "I did not break a sweat when I was in physical therapy, so I decided to continue here."

She giggled. "Gai sensei would be proud."

"Gai sensei expects it of me. He should only be proud if I walk away form this hospital in half, no, a third of the time they estimated!"

"You certainly know how to make a tall order, Lee." She cocked her head to the side. "Was that something you decided before the chunnins?"

"No." He answered. "It is something I decided according to my nindo." He had stopped his incessant pacing, leaning the crutches on the bed and going down to the floor to do one armed push-ups... with his weak arm. It was obvious that his arm was healing faster than his leg, but it was also obvious that he was yet to attempt this exercise. He got down to the floor, all confident. Loor watched, worried, as he got to the ready position, his good arm folded behind his back...

And he didn't move. She watched as the muscles in his shoulders tensed, something she could see through the blue hospital robe he wore, but the muscles in the arm seemed not to respond. "Lee---"

"No." He gave, sounding... no, not angry, sad. She watched as he started to push harder, and got his chest a little off of the floor, but then the boy yelped in pain and dropped back down, panting.

She sighed, getting down and pulling him up by his shoulders despite his protest. "You're not ready for it yet." She gave, pushing him back to stand, getting his crutches under him. He refused them though, flinging his arms around her neck and supporting his weight on her.

"I..." He sniffed. If was official, Lee was sobbing. "Tell Gai sensei to forgive me... I am inadequate."

She gave him a look, grabbing him around the middle and using that hold to move him so he could sit on his bed. "Whoa, whoa, Lee, whadda ya talkin' about?! Inadequate? It's one lousy push-up that you shouldn't even be attempting at this point!"

"I refuse to fail!"

Loor stared, backing off as she had just eased Lee down into his pillow, standing over him and looking down. He actually looked angry, or as close as the boy could get. He had raised his voice.

"Then you're plenty adequate." She soothed. "As long as you refuse to fail, and keep trying, I'm sure Gai is proud of you." She then drew closer, sitting again, brushing a hand through his hair. "But... sometimes you have to give things time to heal."

"I've spent too much time..." Lee huffed, looking away from her. "If I can not do one with my bad arm, I must do twenty with my good arm!" Once making that proclamation, he made a move to almost jump out of his bed, a move that she stopped him in.

"Easy tiger!" She laughed slightly. "Glad to see you bounce back so easy, but what's with the odd conditions? What are you going to do if you can't do that?"

"More exercise with my legs!" He seemed much happier with his resolve, sitting up and holding up a fist in determination. "But twenty push-ups will be an easy feat, so as I am successful I will move it up to forty!"

She giggled. "Where did you get all this from?" She asked. "I understand challenging oneself, but you just love it, don't you?"

"I learn from Gai sensei." Lee gave, calming down a little. "He does the same, even when his contest is chance."

"Eh?" She cocked her head to one side. "Explain."

He settled back a little in his bed, and she adjusted the pillow for him, taking her shoes off and moving completely onto his bed, crossing her legs. "Kakashi and Gai sensei are rivals, and used to have contests very often. They kept score between who won these contests as to prove who was better in the rivalry. Gai is amazing, but Kakashi is a tough opponent! When Gai took on a team, the two knew they would no longer have proper time to have these contests, but were tied at the time. They decided to have one last contest, one that would break the tie and declare the champion till the next time they had time for each other."

"Interesting..." Loor gave. "How do they choose the contests? Do they draw it out of a hat?"

"No." He answered. "They switch who picks each time, and Kakashi decided for the tie breaker. Of course, Gai wanted a game of speed, strength, or endurance; games he knew he had a good chance at besting Kakashi in. Instead, Kakashi decided upon a simple game, a child's game, of random odds."

"That being?" Loor knew that Kakashi tended to have a dry sense of humor. His game would have to play into that.

"Rock, paper, scissors."

Wow.

"What?" She questioned, raising an eyebrow. "You've got to be kidding me, right?"

"No." He shook his head no. "Gai had the team watch, so I know with my own eyes." He then took up a smile of pride. "Gai, after hearing the game, agreed and then said that if he lost he would do an amazing amount of laps around Konohagure _on his hands!_"

Loor suddenly understood Neji and TenTen joking about that. "But it's a game of chance! The odds that he'd win are fifty-fifty... actually less if you factor in the chances of a draw and such."

"He knew, and did not care. And Gai sensei did lose. I did not understand him doing it at the time... and much later, in the middle of the night, after he had been walking on his hands for hours, I found him in the woods. He was still doing it... and I was confused at the time. I asked him... and he said that no matter how small the task, it must be treated seriously. Even if no one is watching you discipline yourself, you can not cheat..."

Lee suddenly became lost in thought.

She leaned forward on the bed, looking at him. "Lee?"

"That night... I started walking with Gai. I did it on my hands too... he said that if I could keep up with him, he would train me to be a splendid shinobi, regardless that I could not use ninjutsu or genjutsu, that he would devote his life to it." He then looked at her. "I did... I can not allow Gai's devotion to be wasted like this."

"It will be wasted if you try training before you're healed up." She gave, gently putting her hand on his shoulder. "You could hurt yourself worse, permanently disable yourself."

"You do not seem to care about that when you are on your night sessions, Loor."

"That's because that's me. I care about you."

"But you do not care about yourself?" His gaze was testing.

"Not much." She admitted. "Just enough to allow myself to function... so I can help people."

"You should care more." He gave, lightly returning the hand she had put on his shoulder by applying his hand to the side of her face. "There are a few people in the world that care about you."

"That's their problem." She gave, smirking. "You are a great ninja, Lee." She came in close, giving him a gentle peck on the cheek. "But you have to give it time to heal when you've been hurt."

"I understand..." The boy muttered. He still seemed sad, and she hugged him for it. That night, she stayed by his side till he smiled.


	54. None Of Your Business

Yes, after a month and some, I'm finally here! I didn't even count how many chapters I'm putting up…. Lemme put it this way; part one of Markings is done. What happens? Well, you'll just have to read it, now won't you, Skippy? This forward is all I'm doing till the end, so the major disclaimer is here. I DON'T OWN DIDILY SQUAT!!!!!!!! OWTF!

**Markings- Chapter Fifty Four  
None Of Your Business**

When Loor returned to the woods, it was slowly. She had her wooden stave tucked into the back of her sports bra, and her coat worn carelessly around her shoulders. She knew Neji was somewhere out here, waiting for her. She assumed he would be waiting at the usual training grounds, since there had been no specification on where they were going to have this bout.

She was rather wound up, looking forward to it. She hadn't had a sparring session since before Lee went into the hospital. Neji was a prime subject too, one of the people she promised herself that she'd beat since he'd beaten her once. Hinata was still on that list too, but she was still in the hospital due to this guy.

All the more reason to kick the shit out of him.

"You're late."

She had just entered the clearing as she heard these words from above. She tensed, not looking, and rolling out of the way as she heard him jumping down. He landed where she had been standing, and she turned to face him. "I didn't know we had a set time."

Neji stood, that smirk on his face, white eyes shining in the dark. Loor wanted to make a crack about how this kid should never play hide-and-go-seek in the dark, but didn't. "I assumed you'd be out here the second the sun set, not several hours after."

She snickered, standing straight and giving his smirk right back. "I was with Lee." She gave.

"Petty." He snorted at her. "Though it is a very _female_ thing to fawn over the sick."

She felt her temper flare up, but held herself firm, trying not to growl. "You are certainly asking for it, aren't you?"

"I have heard about your other fights, Loor." Neji started circling her. "It's been said that you are at your best when you have the intent to kill, so angry that you want to rip the person's head off." He widened his smirk, nearing a grin. "I want to see this energy from you."

Her electric gaze followed him, and she snorted. "You want me that mad?" She tossed her head slightly, as if she were a young stallion stuck in the gate, rearing to go. "You must have a death wish."

"No, not at all." He snickered, and she watched his eyes flick, again, to her left shoulder. She noticed it this time, but didn't pay much care to it. "Not a death wish... I just want a real challenge. If your rage is the key to your strength, I'll fuel it as much as I need to get a good bout out of it."

She started circling as well, not yet pulling her wooden weapon out of her makeshift holster. "As you like it, buddy boy... but I'll only say this once or twice; don't underestimate me."

Neji nodded, still holding his arrogant expression, stopping and backing off to one side of the clearing. She did the same, once again kicking at the ground and snorting, feeling a slight energy build.

"Shall we?" Neji asked, sinking into a battle stance. He was crouched over, one hand forward, the other back. His palms were open, thumbs tucked in, fingers straight.

She nodded, going into a stance she had learned from Lee. One arm went folded behind her back, the other out and forward, a fist made of it, facing to the side instead of head on.

The area had gone deathly quiet for a moment, and a breeze was the only thing that stirred it, brushing Loor's hair, tossing Neji's long crop of black hair with it's tie at the end, bouncing on the playful little gust of wind.

The wind stilled, and they both kicked off.

They met in the middle, Loor with a fist aimed at his chest while coming in low, Neji with a strike of his straight hands aimed for her stomach and coming in high. Their hands met, and they both backed off, but not for long. It was as quick a jump back as it was a leap forward.

Neji brought his left palm to her right shoulder, watching her roll her shoulder to get out of the way of the strike, sidestepping towards him and grabbing him with one hand to throw him. She was very quick now, probably from training with Lee.

But Neji had expected the girl to throw him to the side and let him fall. This is where he was wrong.

No, she turned in a quick circle, bringing the black haired boy with, and directing the throw up and around. When he left the ground, grunting in surprise, she dropped to her hands to lift both feet off of the ground and give him a kick in the back so he'd really fly.

Neji landed on his side, rolling as to hurt himself less, and Loor got back to her feet.

"You're holding back!" She spat, not even panting.

Neji, slowly drawing to his feet, smirked at her. "So are you."

Their circling started up again, watching each other, waiting for just the right twitch to begin again.

"So," She gave. "Worried about your fight with Naruto?"

"Worried?" Neji pushed off of the ground, getting in close quarters and aiming three quick strikes that she knocked away in time, countering with a twisting kick that drove him back to his original distance. "He is fated to fail... just like you."

She tried not to let the burning rage in her get much bigger. If he fueled the fire much more, she was sure she'd explode. It was probably what he wanted, but she wasn't going to give it to him so easily. "Then what is the point of practicing?" She batted back.

"If I must beat him..." Neji's eyes flashed. "I should beat him as badly as the person he is fighting for. Naruto almost went mad at the sight of my cousin, Hinata, coughing up blood. He dipped his hand in the puddle on the floor to make the promise that he would get revenge for it." He shook his head. "Tch... pathetic."

"You son of a..." Loor growled. "She's your cousin for God's sake! Why the hell would you do that?!"

"She is my charge!" Neji snapped back. "She needed to be taught that she was attempting a path never meant for her... even if I killed her."

"So you'll kill Naruto instead and have her kill herself in depression?!" Loor ran at him, grabbing the hand he put out to block a faked punch, shoving her knee into his stomach like she had that morning. He didn't take as hard a hit this time though, pushing her back as she did this, making her land on her ass as he backed away a step, holding his stomach. She didn't stay down for long, rolling back and to her feet.

"Perhaps your path is changing..." Neji muttered. "I think it is time to stop playing around, yes?"

She grinned. "Took the words right out of my mouth, buddy boy." She pulled her stave out from behind her, twisting the wooden weapon in her hands. In return, Neji brought his hands together in a quick hand sign.

Suddenly, the veins to his eyes swelled, his eyes sharpening. He had just activated the byakugan.

"Bring it!"

Again, they kicked off and met, Loor quick with her stave to knock away would be blows form Neji's palms. She knew the damage those palms could do. The fighting style 'Gentle Fist,' known not for it's physical force, but instead the number it did on a person's chakra network. The internal damage could completely disable a person if the fighter using this style did his homework and knew where to hit.

She guessed that Neji knew the book backwards and forwards. He was insanely fast too, so quick that even though she could block, she couldn't even think of striking. She couldn't even think, just switching her stave into the different forms she needed for blocking his hands at every turn.

What was he aiming for? What was he working at? She tired to think, but any time she brought two thoughts together, there'd be another palm to block.

Then she yelled, pushing her stave forward where she was willing to take a chance. It was a double-edged sword that she struck with. While Neji lost ground, taking a tough knock over the head, she felt one of his palms hit her on the left shoulder.

She remembered the feeling from the fight so long ago with Hinata... though he hardly touched her, she felt the strike through all the muscles in the area, a strange and painful tingle... only Neji was different. Hinata had done something that had made the muscle want to go dead, but she felt a more energizing tingle from Neji's strike.

What had he done? She didn't take time to ponder, taking another blow as the opportunity was still open, smacking him in the side, forcing him back another few steps, yelling as a primal reaction as to take in more air, twisting around as he got to more hits on her abdomen and she was confronted by the deadening feel that she had been through during the fight with Hinata. She ignored it though, jabbing him in the chest with the end of her wood weapon, knocking him back into a tree, and stopping.

She stood before him, crouched slightly, the somewhat sharp tip of her stave threatening his left eye by a centimeter.

"You want something..." She panted, having broken a sweat in that bout. Neji still looked fresh, if not a little shocked that she had forced him back like that, willing to take blows. "What the hell are you looking for in this fight!?"

He glanced to the left, and she flicked her stave up, catching his headband, to hold his head still, and redirect him to looking at her straight on. "Don't underestimate me." She snarled.

He still had his eyes looking to the left, and she was becoming more enraged.

"What the hell do you want?!" She snarled. "You want me angry, but Kakashi thought I fought like crap when I was pissed, so that excuse you gave me before is shit!"

"What's on your shoulder, Loor?"

Ice suddenly went through her. Her rage was snuffed out in a sudden fear. "Oh God... did it break?" She didn't remove her stave from being painfully against his forehead, slightly under his headband. "Please look and tell me if the seal broke."

"No." Neji gave. "But it was very close..."

He sounded disappointed.

That's when she got it.

"You wanted to see me break the seal and use it?!" She snarled. She shoved her weapon further under Neji's headband and pivoted the wooden weapon over her shoulder and to the side, taking the boy with for a few feet till the headband came off. Neji went to the ground, face towards the grass, as his headband landed several feet away, clattering against another tree. "Why would you want to see that?!"

"I wanted to know what it does."

He lifted his head to look at her, and she didn't take time to register what his face was composed in. She just gave another yell and came in fast. She had a kick aimed for his head, but he vanished when she contacted; substitution. Her foot connected to a random stick that was thrown back into the woods. Quickly, she turned around to find him standing, ready for her to charge.

She tossed her head, taking off her coat and tossing it so the side, standing before him in her sports bra and pants, kicking off her shoes as well and then coming in for the expected charge. He came at her as well, both hands connecting with her chest area, knocking her weapon off track as he rounded for a second strike to her ribs, the last being a heavy hit to her stomach that made her go air born for a moment, landing on her back.

She rolled over her shoulders, kicking off of the tree that her head almost ran into, not out of the fight yet. She knew he was shutting things down in her core muscles, trying to disable her, but she refused to be disabled. She wanted to knock his damned head off now!

"Why?!" She spat, catching his first hand with the end of her stave, flipping the weapon to block the other one, thrusting the end of the weapon into the ground to pivot around it, shoving her foot into his chest. "Tell me why you wanted to see it! You're his accomplice, aren't you!? You helped him do it, dragged me to the damned forest of death, helped him kill my family, didn't you, you damned bastard?!!"

He caught himself before he fell from her kick, coming forward and taking the middle of her stave with his head, grabbing the ends just out side of her grip and spinning on his heel like he was doing a hammer throw, getting her feet to come off of the ground before putting a spin on the stave and letting go. "I have no idea what you are talking about!!"

Loor landed hard, her stave under her forehead, as the clearing silenced again. Nothing could really be heard besides the labored breath of both teens in the area.

Loor stayed down. "Of course you say that... but only someone who was with him would want to know... that's the only way... you'd have to be connected to him." She then looked up at Neji, getting to her feet, pushing her hair out of her face. She looked to his face, to see how he was taking her accusing words.

Her eyes were then attracted to something of particular interest on his forehead. It had been covered up by his headband, but now was out for show. It was a green 'X' on the center of his forehead with a horizontal line running to either side of it, making it look almost like a strange circlet around his head.

"What the...?"

"Curse marks come in many shapes, Loor." He had sunk out of battle posture, still breathing a little hard from the bout. "When I saw yours, I was curious to what it did... and who had given it to you, since I hadn't seen it on you when I met you. I was sure it was a slip of my mind... till you mentioned the forest of death." He then walked forward, closer to her. "But a seal would say that your mark is much different than mine. I noticed that it tattered while you were angry, and assumed it had something to do with fighting. If you were raging enough, I could force you into breaking it."

"Well," She growled, glaring at him as he approached, still holding her stave. "You were right about that... and you almost did. Though I would rather if it didn't..." She put her hand over it, sighing, before suddenly snapping him a look. "Whoa, wait a second, what the hell is the mark on your forehead for?!"

"That's none of your business." He shook his head. "And what is yours for? What does it do? Who gave it to you?"

"I'll say the same to you, jerk-off!" She glared. "What makes my mark your business when yours is none of mine?" She went back to a fighting posture, holding her stave behind her, crouched down, ready to make a move.

He snorted at her, noting her hostility and then turning away from her, picking up his headband.

He began to walk away.

"Perhaps you are right... this fight is over, Loor."

"What?!" She snarled, kicking off of the ground, leaping at him with her stave behind her, hand out to grab him by his long black crop of hair. Her hand closed loosely as he suddenly turned, the white tie on the end of his hair slipping off with her hand, as he struck her in the chest, making her fly back a few feet, landing her on her back, making her yell.

"I challenged you to see what your mark did, not because I thought you were worthy." He came back, a slow walk, kneeling by her to draw the white ribbon from his hair out of her hand. "Now that you refuse me what I want to know, there is little point in continuing."

She tightened her hand around the end of the ribbon, not letting him take it. She sat up, glaring at him, nearly nose-to-nose with him.

"Not worthy?" She growled.

Neji's eyes widened. Even without the byakugan activated still, he sensed danger.

She shoved him over, standing while driving a foot into his stomach, jumping away and setting herself up to battle again. "Don't tell me I'm not worthy unless you're willing to finish what you start, Neji!" She bellowed, breathing heavily.

Neji rose form the ground with his dignity intact. He looked over at her to see she still held the ribbon, which she was now securing to her stave, as if she was to tease him with it.

"I have no reason to fight you." He said simply.

'Do I have to try and piss you off?!" Loor snarled. "What do I have to do to get you to take a few steps down and play dirty??"

"You can't." He sighed, shaking his head. His hair was loose now, blowing in the wind like hers, raven colored whisps that contrasted his pale skin. "You can get out of my way so I can leave, and that is what I'll suggest."

She glanced behind herself. So she was in his way? "No." She gave, glaring. "You have to get through me."

"Silly girl..." He muttered, shaking his head. He turned, to go bushwhacking the other way.

She growled, dropping her stave and bringing her hands together into one of the many hand signs she'd learned in the time she'd been here.

The skill she was about to use was the one she had stumbled upon on accident while learning tree climbing. She remembered it well, when she made the wrong sign and the tree started on fire because she still focused her energy on it. Same concept...

Her fingers formed the sign for tiger, and she focused upon Neji's shirt.

The boy seemed to notice her chakra usage before it happened, and he grunted in surprise because he didn't know she knew how to set things on fire. It was the entire left half of his shirt too, and he quickly whipped the burning garment off to try and stomp the flames out. Regardless, the shirt was now ruined. He now faced her, glaring.

"What the hell was that for?"

"For you being a pansy ass bitch." She replied. "Now get back here and face me seriously, or it'll be your hair next time, and that can't be taken off unless you have a razor on you."

His white eyes stared at her for a second, and he slowly gave a smile. She was presenting a real challenge.

He leapt forward while the byakugan reactivated, and she braced her stave up to block. The match took up again quickly, but Neji was done holding anything back. The only thing he had left on his mind was to prove that he was her better, but she had a way of always blocking, knowing somehow when he was making a meaningless strike and countering, the battle taking on a quick rhythm like that of music.

But she was doing it again. She was taking hits to force him into a corner. He didn't notice it at once, because she wasn't quite so blunt about it this time, but inch-by-inch he was loosing ground again.

He made a quick round when she went to counter him again, landing a kick in her stomach and dashing after her as she left the ground, getting under her with a dash and kicking her up again, grabbing her stave from her hands and yanking it away as she fell, gravity doing it's job.

He slid his ribbon off of the weapon, throwing the stave away from her to see if she'd get up and go get it.

She lifted herself to her hands and knees, shaking violently. She was actually bleeding from a few points where Neji had used more force than he needed, but most of the damage she could feel on the inside. Muscles that refused to work thanks to his byakugan, most of the damage in her shoulders and arms.

"Give up." She gave, looking up at him, spitting blood. "Or I'll have to teach you a lesson."

"Give up?" He smirked. "I have the upper hand."

She growled, and then grinned. If there was one thing Lee taught her, it was how to flip the odds. She rolled back and away from Neji, shedding her leg weights along the way, not giving Neji any time to even take notice of that fact, dashing back all too quickly, taking the black haired boy by surprise. She didn't attack though, getting behind him. She stood there, knowing that he could see her still.

"Boo."

He turned to strike her, and she dashed out of the way again, adding chakra to the new speed her light legs gave her, almost invisible to the naked eye, and tough to track by the byakugan aided one. He hadn't done any damage to her legs, leaving them to be her strength.

And they were.

She came in to hit him hard and fast, which he blocked her fist, and the other one as it came in, jumping away as she went for the kick, jumping again as she dashed after him, sensing her more than seeing her as she changed directions, angles, everything she could to try and score even one blow.

And her environment became her friend again. Her constant changes kept him focused on her, and he once again forgot on how far away the trees were. He found his back against one, again, and she went in for the kill.

She came in fast, jumping up, rounding in the air to put her foot across his face with more force than needed to break his jaw.

His hand grabbed her foot, yanking her down as he felt a few fingers bend the wrong way.

Her fists went across his face from either side.

He couldn't feel it, attacking two of the four points around her heart that he could see.

She landed on her back, clutching her chest.

He stood with his back against the tree, aware of a black eye and bleeding lip he didn't have a few seconds ago.

He stared at her, letting his eyes go back to normal. He stood over her, getting away from the tree, backing a few steps away from her in case she got up again.

"What... what did you...?" She panted, holding her heart in pain.

"You'll be fine in a few hours..." He muttered. "If I had attacked one more point around your heart... you could have died."

"You had the time..." She turned her head to look at him. "Why did you hold back?"

Slowly, very slowly, he drew up a smile to his battered face. "You are worthy, Loor. Perhaps when you have your headband, we'll give it another go. Just try to live that long."

With that, he picked up his headband and ruined shirt with his good hand, and walked past her to leave.

"Neji!" She yelped, lifting her head, finding herself incapable of getting up.

He glanced back. Was she going to ask for help?

"What does that mark do?" She questioned, one last time.

He shook his head, frowning at her. "It limits me, Loor." He let out a sigh. "Perhaps a different time... you could tell me what it's like to be free."

She let her head fall back, listening to him walk away, not contemplating his words as she passed out.


	55. Aftermath

**Markings- Chapter Fifty Five  
****Aftermath**

For the first time in history, Kiba was the first one in the room to wake up. It was his usual slow waking up, but he still woke up before Fury had even begun to stir, which was weird. His head was buried in the back of her hair, as usual, when he woke up. Still, usually his reason for waking up these days was that she had moved and thus he didn't smell her as strongly, bring him to be awake because of the change in his environment.

But there was no change... and he was awake.

Something was wrong here...

Gently, dog-boy lifted his head up and scanned the room. Akamaru was curled up against Fury's chest, also sleeping. Fury looked rather content herself...

So why was he all antsy? He wasn't even drowsy now. He was wide awake for no particular reason. C'mon, we've all had that morning. You wake up for no reason at all, and find yourself incapable of getting back to sleep. If you're a die-hard lazy person you'll lay in bed till you can't stand your own body heat anymore, plus about an hour, which was a crime Kiba had probably committed somewhere in his past years. On the other hand, if you happen to be a little more active than that, you tend to get up and keep yourself entertained till the hour isn't so ungodly.

Good for Kiba, he was capable of taking both of these routs at the same time. It was kinda easy when the entertainment was already sleeping next to you. The most entertaining part of it, he was sure, would be waking her up.

Fury slept rather soundly as he gently cleared the hair from the back of her neck with one clawed hand, smirking at her while straying a sharp nail on the back of her neck and watching her shift slightly in her sleep, almost giggling. He waited till she was still again, the smile fading from her lips as she went back into the deep sleep, before going back to entertaining himself.

We all know how dog-like the Inuzuka family is, right? Right... well, guess what? Kiba could fit the 'dog' bill from top to bottom. From fangs, to claws, to odd habits of scratching his ears with his feet, he was some sort of hound deep down.

Well, the dog often had to hold himself back around Fury. Yeah, she was female. And he was _horribly_ male.

What did this all mean? Fury was about to get her first hickey; fangs included.

Fury shifted slightly when his lips met her neck, humming and mumbling something, relaxing again as he paused and then shifting again as he continued in the process. In all honesty, she didn't wake up till the fangs got involved. It was just a little prick, but pain was pain. Her head turned to the side, trying to see what the hell Kiba was doing, bleary eyed and more than a little confused.

"...Kiba...?" She gave, suddenly getting hit with something else; I think we all know what it was.

He lifted away from the brand new red mark on her neck, grinning. "Morning."

"...morning..." She replied, yawning a little while putting a hand over where his lips had just left off. "What in the world were you...?"

He grinned, leaning over and licking her nose to be goofy. "Just showing a little affection."

She almost yelped, quickly wiping her nose off with her forearm. "Thanks..." She muttered, not sounding too impressed.

He whined at her, suddenly shifting the whole pile to get up above her, looking down with a smirk. Akamaru was pushed off of the bed, and the puppy barked in protest as he woke up, whined as he rolled over, and gave a dismissive growl as he went back to sleep. "What? Don't like it?"

"Your teeth are sharp!" She defended. "If you're not careful with those things you could hurt me..."

He grinned to show of the large canines in his smile. "I can't help it. Blame my ancestors."

She giggled slightly, sighing. "It's okay... but there's still a little bit of a problem."

"What?"

"The location you picked." She leaned up slightly, returning the lick he had given earlier. "If Loor sees this--"

"She can take a hike." He cut her off, pushing Fury back down, putting his nose to hers, still smirking. "On the other hand... if you're mad about the location I can always put the next one somewhere else."

She blushed slightly. "K-K-Kiba... you're... acting different."

"Is that bad?"

"No!" She reddened further. "I kinda like it..."

Kiba's grin widened for a few seconds, and then he lost it. So close to her, he had a sudden urge. And since he was currently in the mood for obeying his urges, he followed this one to run its course.

He leaned down and met her lips.

This wasn't like the kiss on the date they had been on, the timid meeting of the lips that was full of questions and missing all the answers. No. It had many differences, most of which doing with how long it lasted, how intense it was, and how much better it felt.

Fury, at first, didn't realize what was going on. When she did, she had no idea what to do. She'd never really kissed anyone before! Was she just supposed to relax and close her eyes? Was she really supposed to keep them open and all the movies were lying? Who was supposed to start it if they decided to go French about this? She panicked, and Kiba could feel it, pulling away after a few seconds.

She looked up at him, befuddled.

He snickered, leaning his head down by her ear and nuzzling her. "Don't think." He advised. "Just do."

"Is that what you do?" She asked.

"Honestly Fury, you're the only girl I've ever kissed. I'm making up the game as I go."

She turned her head towards him, giving a slight smile. "So we're both learning?"

"Yeah." He nodded. "So it's okay if it's a little weird at first. Anyway..." He nuzzled her. "We're still kids. This is when we're supposed to be learning new things."

She nodded a little, actually starting the next kiss. It started out wimpy, nervous, but he didn't go for overpowering her. He was gentle, brushing a hand through her hair while coaxing her lips open, closing his own eyes. She did too, once it started getting a little more serious and she started getting a bit more confident. She pushed back up to him, getting lost in their first real kiss.

They both got lost in it... so much that neither of them noticed commotion somewhere else in the house. Someone was at the door, asking almost frantically to be let in to see Fury, but of course our couple didn't hear that as Hana asked why, a surprised yelp going over after the explanation...

Neither of them noticed till TenTen slammed the door open, panting and looking frantic. "Fury!" She panted. "We just found Lo---"

And TenTen had just laid eyes on the situation. Fury and Kiba had broken away from each other as the door opened, but Kiba was still on top of her, and Fury still had a new hickey in plain sight.

"Oh... w-wow... I... uh... " TenTen backed out a little bit, shutting the door. "Sorry... I didn't need to see that."

"See what?" Hana's voice asked. "What were they doing?"

Kiba quickly got off of Fury, but it was a half of second too late as the door opened again. Hana's jaw just about landed on the floor, and then she started laughing. "Oh... you are in so much trouble when I tell ma, Kiba."

"Tell her what!?" Kiba snapped, sitting up all the way and glaring at his sister.

Hana grinned, showing off the fangs that everyone in the family had. "That you already got your mate all picked out and you're still underage!"

"Hana, Kiba, can we get back to the matter at hand?!" TenTen protested, stepping between the two siblings. "Fury, I need you to come with me."

"What for...?" Fury asked, holding a hand over her neck.

"We found her out in the woods this morning... she's been out there all night obviously... but..." TenTen looked like she had bad news.

"What?"

"She's hurt."

* * *

When Loor woke up, her eyes told her that Lee was presiding over her. Her eyes were blurred though, recognizing the colors and shapes of a person's face that either had to be Lee or someone who played a very close likeness to him.

It took her eyes a little more focus to realize that it was the latter, as did her brain. There was no way Lee could be where she was right now, laying out in the woods. Crouched over her, looking concerned, was Gai sensei. She opened her mouth to say something, but had to turn her head to the side and spit up a semi-solid mass of blood that had been sitting in her mouth for a few hours.

"Yuk..." She muttered, looking up again to see that Gai had moved. Sadly, his person had been blocking light from the early morning sun, so she got it full in the eyes when she looked. "Oh, ow!" She gave, turning her head again.

"What happened, Loor?"

Gai was sounding rather stern.

The girl had to think at first. Dear God, what had happened last night? She moved to sit up now, and found her muscles still sore, but working, which was a step above last night. Looking about, she found her stave not far away. "Me and Neji... had a practice spar... He challenged me for it."

"He could have killed you." Gai was still frowning down at her.

"But I didn't."

Both Gai and Loor looked to see Neji walking up. The boy didn't even glance at Loor's condition, looking at his sensei.

Everyone might note that he wasn't wearing his usual shirt, wearing something that looked like a short Kimono top with his usual blue shorts.

"She gave a very good match... A little more work and she'd be even with me."

Gai looked between Loor and Neji, seeming not to quite buy the story he was getting from the two. On the other hand, it did account for how Loor had been operating on half a heart for most of the night. Only someone in the Hyuga family could do that, and Loor only knew two of them. Hinata was still in the hospital and probably would never do that, which left Neji. But still... this didn't look like the results of sparring. A spar was generally a quick bout, not a fight till someone has to call it quits.

"Alright you two..." Gai sighed, shaking his head. "Loor, take it easy for a little while. Neji, we'll discuss punishment for nearly killing her once TenTen gets back."

"What?!" Loor snarled, forcing herself to her feet. It hurt, but she'd deal. "You can't punish him when I provoked him for most of it! If you make him do anything, I'm joinin' him!"

Neji glared at her. "I challenged you to the fight, the responsibility is mine."

"_Mal ztug!"_ She snarled at him, which is a German way of telling someone to shut the hell up. (Pronounced 'Mal-SUE-g') "What did I tell you about doing favors, eh?"

"Both of you!" Gai snapped, getting them to shut up. "You don't even know what I'm doing for punishment yet."

Both teens looked at their sensei, and then sighed. In a few moments, Gai gave a smirk. "Alright then, I know exactly what you two are doing."

Neji rolled his eyes. He was expecting this. Gai sensei was fairly predictable for discipline.

"Fifty laps around the village, and that's if you two don't fight while walking." Gai smirked. "For every time I hear that you two were goin' at it again, I'll add five laps. Take whatever pace you want, but you'll be going in the same direction, starting at the same point."

"...fifty laps?" Loor almost whimpered. She knew about the size of Konoha. It was HUGE. If they were tracing the walls of the place, including all the forest area, fifty laps would take at least a week!

"The main village, Loor." Neji snorted, walking past the girl. Apparently he already knew the starting point for this type of thing. "Not the farms or the forest."

"It's still gonna take all day..." She muttered. _Just perfect... I get to spend all day with that jerk... _"Hey, Gai-sensei... can I take a few minuets to go back to... uh..." She shifted on the spot for a moment. She was about to say 'My apartment' but it was Lee's. She didn't feel right saying something that almost proclaimed that Lee was never coming back. "Go back home real quick? I... there's something I need to check on..." She then remembered something. "Oh, and someone needs to drop by the hospital and tell Lee not to worry about me, since I won't have time to visit him..."

"LOOR!!"

Two more people crashed into the clearing at this point, and one of them glomped Loor.

"Ack! Fury! That hurts!"

"I don't care, I was worried!" Fury crowed, not letting go just yet but loosening her grip on her big sister. Loor laughed slightly, patting the girl's back and sighing.

"I'm okay... no worries. Just a little--" Loor paused, looking at something that had just caught her attention on Fury's person. "What the hell is that?"

"What?" Fury asked, looking innocent.

"That." Loor yanked an arm out of the hug to put her finger on it.

A red welt on the side of Fury's neck.

"Uh... Kiba's wake up call?"

Loor sighed, putting her hand to her head. "Kill the dog, kill the dog..."

"Don't kill the dog!"

"I want to kill the dog..."

"No killing the dog, and enough about that. What happened?!" Fury demanded, letting go of Loor but getting into her face. "What went on last night?!"

Loor shook her head, sighing. "Here we go again..." She muttered. Quickly, everyone explained what happened last night to Fury and TenTen. At the end of such story, TenTen glared at Loor and Neji.

"Guys, that was a really dumb thing to do."

"No shit..." Loor sighed, rubbing her chest. She still felt the pain from her heart half working. "But I gotta go do something real quick, so I'll be right back..."

"Where are you going?" Fury asked.

"Home, but I'll be back. I just have to make sure everything is okay."

"What?" Fury seemed confused. "Did you leave a pot on the stove or something?"

Loor rolled her eyes, giving Fury a look, who suddenly got it. "Oh... _oh!" _Fury nodded. "Right..."

"Hey, Loor!"

How many people were gonna stop her before she got out of here?

She looked back at TenTen, who was wearing a slight smile. "If you guys are gonna be stuck walking all day, I might as well give you this now so you can take it home and put it away." TenTen walked a few steps away, reaching to take something out from behind a tree. She must have brought it with her that morning before finding Loor passed out in the clearing.

Loor's jaw dropped when she saw it.

Four and a half feet long, the stave was made of hardwood and metal. It was well polished, and TenTen put in Loor's hands so she could feel the weight. It was heavier than her practice stave, but that was to be expected. Like her vision of how she wanted her weapon to be, it had sharp blades on either end that were slightly hooked into a crescent moon shape.

This thing was lethal.

"Like it?" TenTen asked.

"_Love_ it." Loor grinned, and then glanced back at Fury, who also looked to be drooling. She then looked back to the girl who had just given her the weapon. "Hey, TenTen..." She motioned the other girl in a little closer to speak quietly. "Suit Fury up with something... I've been having a feeling about the spit hitting the fan soon... she might as well be prepared."

TenTen nodded. As Loor left the clearing, she could hear TenTen taking Fury aside to go show the younger sister what the weapon's mistress had.

* * *

When Loor entered the apartment, she was almost afraid of what she would find. She put her new weapon aside as she walked in, putting it across the seldom-used table in the kitchen and going over to the bedroom door.

It was shut, and her hand was shaking as she went to turn the knob and open it. Taking a few deep breaths, she reminded herself that it couldn't be that bad... If Gaara panicked, she would have known about it by now.

And so she slowly managed the door open, breathing a sigh of relief as she saw that Gaara had not moved an inch since she last saw him. She walked up to the bed slowly, as if she could wake him by treading too loudly. Once she made it to his side, she sat by him, brushing a hand through his hair.

Gaara's face was calm and relaxed, his breathing even, everything seeming to be fine and dandy. Loor gave a smile at this, but felt as if something was off. As she played with his soft hair, she tried to figure out what it was.

It was several moments before she noted it. The dark circles around his eyes. They're weren't gone, but they had faded a little. Proof of recovery, perhaps. The boy hadn't slept in years... a few days wasn't going to erase those marks. Honestly, they were probably permanent. Even if he somehow got rid of Shukaku and started sleeping like a normal person, there would always be a little bit of gray under his eyes.

That was okay. It suited him, almost. His face wouldn't look right without it. Gently, she bent her head to his, leaving a kiss on his forehead. "Sweet dreams... if you have any." She whispered.

He shifted slightly in his sleep, rolling to his side. She almost jumped when he did, but calmed down as he went back to snoozing peacefully.

She wondered if he could dream... or if he had ever had a dream before. Shukaku must have caused nightmares whenever the boy tried to sleep in the past... probably at a very young age.

She didn't want to leave his side, but she told Gai that she'd be quick. Even then, her body suddenly felt so heavy. She didn't want to get up, she wanted to lay down by Gaara and sink into sleep herself... but that was so selfish. She had to get up...

She couldn't bring herself to her feet, so she slid off of the bed, resting her head by his and still running her fingers through his hair, lightly placing the other hand on his shoulder, sighing.

She wanted to know so badly what was going on in his mind right then... worried sick that she had somehow opened him up to a whole new attack from Shukaku, hopeful that she'd given him some escape from the demon, and all together a mess.

Still... she couldn't linger. Eventually she pushed off of the floor and got moving.

She had a long day ahead of her.


	56. Passing The Time

**Markings- Chapter Fifty Six  
Passing the Time**

Loor found herself counting how many steps she'd taken just so she wouldn't feel the urge to take Neji's head off for last night. It was early on, they had just started walking, and she decided in her brain that she'd count how many steps it took to get around the main part of the village. This was mainly because Neji was showing the proper route Gai wanted them to take, so she wasn't allowed to put any distance between herself and the white-eyed wonder. So between remembering major landmarks, drooling at the smell as they passed Ichiraku's, and loosing her count of steps as she passed three hundred, there wasn't much left to keep her distracted.

She couldn't help herself. Dealing with silence was _not_ one of Loor's strong points. If she didn't find something to focus her brain on, she was going to attempt to start a conversation, and knowing her past experience with Neji, that wasn't going to be friendly.

"So your family was murdered."

Okay, apparently he could start a conversation too.

She glanced up at him, and then sighed. She'd practically screamed that fact at him last night. Not much in dodging it now. "Yeah… so?"

"Why?"

"According to the guy that killed them… it was 'convenient.'" She focused upon her feet, keeping track of Neji's feet at the same time. "Wrong place at the wrong time… Why the hell do you want to know?"

"We're going to be stuck together all day…" He shrugged. "I thought I'd satisfy my curiosity."

"Curiosity satisfied; I don't wanna talk about it." She glared at him. "If you can't tell, I don't like you that much."

"Noted." He shook his head, closing his eyes. Obviously, he'd done a _lot_ of these laps before if he could do it with his eyes closed and not run into anything or anyone. "But you were going to say something anyway."

She felt the slight urge to punch him, but quelled it. "Yeah… just because I can't stand it when someone is around and they're not saying anything. Drives me crazy…"

"No wonder you sympathize with Naruto, you share the ability of being annoying at all costs."

Yeah, that was a jab.

"What the hell is it with you?!" She snapped. "You just like pissing me off for the fun of it, don't you?"

"It makes things a little more interesting… and it's easy to do."

"Well quit it." She snarled. "Fifty laps is enough, I don't need any number higher than that just because you decided you had a bone to pick with me. Once I know the way I'm sprinting the rest of it and going home."

"Home?" He smirked, getting rather entertained now. "I thought you'd go see Lee again and have a pity party."

Apparently Neji didn't mind getting extra laps. Loor snorted, tossing her head to get her hair out of her face. "I probably will stop by, but I have some important stuff going on back at home right now…"

"Really? You bring someone home with you recently and still have to clean up?"

"Alright, that's it!" She gave, stopping and grabbing him by the front of his shirt. Neji was expecting it sooner or later, and quickly knocked her hands away. They both settled into battle posture, about to go at it when—

"Hey, Loor!"

The mentioned female froze, turning her head in question. Behind her, walking up, was Kankuro, Gaara's big brother. She was about to say hello, when Neji took a cheep shot. It was more of a blunted strike to say 'Hey, I'm still here' but pissed her off all the same.

"For the love of every holy figure I know!" She gave, turning in a quick kick to the white-eyed boy. It was blunted like his strike was, not meant to do damage. Neji took it in the stomach, backing away with that superior smirk. "Wait five seconds…" She muttered, turning back to the approaching boy in black. "Hey Kankuro… what's up?"

"Just wondering about Gaara… did I walk in on something between you two?" He gave, pointing at Neji.

"I'm training with his sensei and things got out of hand… so we're discipline-ing together." She then glanced back at Neji, who was waiting for her, and motioned Kankuro closer to say something quietly. "You wanna help me with this guy later? Gai said we weren't allowed to fight, but I got something else in mind."

"Today would be nice." Neji reminded.

"Hold your horses, bitch!" Loor growled back, turning to Kankuro again. "Well?"

"Sounds like fun to me… I've been bored out of my mind since Temari suddenly took up tanning just out side the village…" He shook his head. "Women; no offence to you."

"None taken, most are insane."

"I'm going on without you." Neji sighed, turning to start walking again.

Loor rolled her eyes, ignoring him and making a quick run down of her idea to Kankuro. It was pretty easy… and used a particular trick she'd come to be fond of since a particular incident with a bucket. (That's a hint, people)

Kankuro liked the sound of it too. He let Loor leave and catch up with Neji, and he turned his attention to a nearby structure formally known as the wall around the Hokage's residence. Loor had taken the time to explain a simple jutsu to him, and he had whatever time it took for them to finish their lap to figure out how to use it, and set a nice little trap for Neji. Loor's job was to naturally keep the argument up with Neji so she'd have an excuse to slam him into the wall when she passed it, and set off said trap.

It really was kid stuff, but he was bored anyway. It was odd though… he went to go find Loor to ask about Gaara, and managed to get sidetracked rather quickly… had she done that on purpose? Had she really been planning this or did she come up with it off the top of her head? He didn't know, but would probably take the time to ask later on.

But why would she dodge on Gaara's condition? Was there something wrong? Or maybe she was worried. He tried not to let it sit on his brain for too long. If there was something seriously wrong, all of Konoha would have known by now. It was weird being alone though. Kankuro was used to having someone around, even if was only to bitch at him. He was either keeping track of the youngest, having the eldest keep him in line, or messing with both of them. Now Temari seemed to suddenly care way too much about her tan lines, and had to go and do it in the most obscure place in the world when the rooftops would have worked fine, and Gaara was somehow doing the impossible; sleeping.

So who was the only one going on with life as he knew it? Him. _Lovely._ With his siblings out of the picture, he thought he could go and have some fun… that is, till he realized that having any fun outside the common law would probably get him disqualified from the finals of the chunnins. He'd been bored for several hours before the bright idea of looking for Loor, and then this came up.

The good news was that Kankuro was quick to pick up on the jutsu Loor instructed him in. She was right, it was pretty easy. Now it was much a matter of guarding the trap so it didn't hit some innocent bystander before Neji and Loor came around again.

If it did what she said it did… it was gonna be pretty funny.

The wait wasn't long, and it was heralded by a well-carried argument.

"Yeah, thank you Neji for throwing a punch _right_ when Gai comes to see how we're doing! Ten laps for violence, five for arguing, and another five for the fact that he could still hear us when he was at least twenty yards away!"

"You think _I_'_m _happy about it? You're the one who keeps brining up things!"

"And you're the retarded ass who won't let them drop!"

The two rounded the corner, practically racing each other, shoulder-to-shoulder and glaring. Kankuro smirked, perhaps the jutsu wasn't going to be the entertaining part. Loor's eyes darted up for a moment though, just long enough to spot Kankuro, who pointed at the correct part of the wall.

She grinned, pushing to alter the path towards said wall and making her move mere feet from it.

"That's it you blind SOB, I've had it with you!" She gave, grabbing him by the back of his shirt and whipping him around. Neji wasn't quite expecting it, which let him slam into the wall that Kankuro indicated… chest first. As if just to make sure, she gave an extra press to his back to make sure he made full contact.

Does anyone remember the sticky jutsu?

Kankuro grinned, watching as Neji attempt to remove himself from the wall… and failed. Repeatedly. "What in the world is this?"

Loor snickered, leaning on the wall a few feet away to be careful that she didn't get stuck. "Just a little trick me and Naruto figured out a week or so ago. Pretty cool, huh? You'll be stuck there for a while, Neji. Sticky jutsu doesn't just hook onto the points of contact, its like sticking invisible hooks deep into your body. Yank hard enough, and you'll start ripping your skin off, so take it easy." She then glanced up at Kankuro. "How long do you think he'll be stuck?"

"Donno." Kankuro shrugged, grinning. "I wasn't sure how much energy to put into it… so I put a little extra on just to make sure."

Loor giggled. "Cool. As I hear it, Ebisu didn't get that bucket off of his head for two days… so enjoy your night Neji. I'll see you later."

"Gai is going to have your head for this." Neji gave, calmly.

"You say that as if it's going to make a difference. I said me and Naruto figured out the jutsu; we didn't bother creating a release… anyway, it was worth it." She grinned. "If Gai asks, I'll call it special training; since you're going up against the other person who created it. You never know what an opponent will use during battle."

"Or when she'll team up with others."

Kankuro chuckled. "Nothing personal Neji, it was kind of a right place right time thing. Oh yeah… I think most of the dignitaries that are coming to watch the chunnin finals are going to be showing up within the next few days… most of them are going to pass by here on the way to see the Hokage."

Loor almost busted out laughing. "Oh my gosh, too perfect!" She shook her head, walking again. "Oh well, Neji, you deserved it!"

Kankuro followed Loor, also inches from laughing his head off. "Where do you come up with crap like that?"

She shrugged, smiling. "Call it instinct. I see an opportunity, and _bam,_ I become evil." She sighed, rubbing her head. "But it gets him out of my hair at the least… I can't stand that kid."

"I noticed." He smirked. "So you didn't tell me what was up with Gaara."

She laughed slightly. "Yeah… sorry about that, little distracted." She shook her head. "Anyway… he's fine as far as I know. Still sleeping."

"Geez…" Kankuro frowned slightly. "I know he deserves a rest and all after the crap he's been through, but how long can one kid sleep?"

"I have no idea, but I'll take care of him, so you and Temari shouldn't worry."

He snickered. "Loor, he's my little brother, and even though he threatens to mutilate me every other week, and occasionally makes good on it, I still worry about him. Not to mention I've actually been getting to like the saner side he's been showing lately… though I can't quite take up on Temari's complete lack of worry."

"What do you mean by that?" She raised an eyebrow.

"I mean she's been leaving the main of the village at the same time every day to go sun bathing… something about liking some of the hills out there. Personally I don't see anything wrong with the rooftops around here if she wants to keep her tan, but she insists that being out in the woods it better… got all weird when I wanted to go with her too."

"Oh." Loor snickered. "She's seeing someone."

"Eh?"

"Gotta love boys…" Loor shook her head. "Temari probably met someone out there while tanning the first time, and started coming back because she enjoyed the company. Her getting weird about you coming along probably means it's a boy."

Kankuro thought about that for a moment, and sighed, hanging his head. "For the love of—what the hell is it with everyone suddenly getting involved with other people the second we leave Suna, and I'm the only one who's still hitting the adult book store because the girls in this town could care less about me?"

"Not strutting the right stuff." She giggled. "Last I checked, not a whole lot of women are into men who wear face paint on a daily basis."

He shrugged. "Sucks to be them."

She rolled her eyes, shaking her head again. "Beggars can't be choosers, Kankuro."

"Heh… good point."

* * *

"Kurenai!"

Kurenai turned slightly, having been tapping her foot in impatience; both Kiba and Fury were late and just arriving now. Fury was the one who had just called her out… who looked a little different.

"Fury, what are you wearing…?"

Fury and Kiba skidded to a stop within the training area, and Fury gave a huge grin. Not only had TenTen suited her up with weapons; but a holster as well! It was simple enough, made of imitation leather that crossed her chest in an 'X'. What did it hold? Glad you asked.

Twin sais; a type of three-pronged dagger, the middle prong being the longest, the two shorter ones with reversed tips. These things were not made to be nice, but Fury liked the type of weapon due to training with short handled wooden ones and the movie Electra. Of course, when she'd seen that movie Loor had to get all over her case about taking up a weapon because of fandom.

Loor also went out to teach Fury how to use a practice set properly in case the younger girl actually got the real thing at some point in her life. In a quick show, Fury drew both weapons and held them in front of herself. "TenTen gave them to me!" She chirruped in reply.

Kurenai stared for a moment, and then smiled. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say we were suiting you up for war, not training."

Fury shrugged. "TenTen said that you never know when the spit's gonna hit the fan… she thought I should be ready."

"Right she is." Kurenai nodded.

Kiba grinned. "What, Kurenai? You're the one who gave her ninja tools before! I thought you wouldn't worry about giving her sharp objects after that."

"You have a point." Kurenai sighed. "You guys picked a wonderful day to be late though… we've got a mission today."

Fury grinned, putting her new toys away. "Really?" She was nearly jumping up and down all of the sudden. Her first mission!

"Yeah." Kurenai smiled as she saw the excitement on Fury's face. "Don't get too riled up, it's a D rank."

"Awe man…" Kiba growled, kicking the ground. "What is it this time? Did that lady lose her cat again? Why can't we get any real missions as genin?"

"Says the person who didn't want Fury joining up with us in fear of something dangerous coming about." Kurenai pointed out. "And no, the cat hasn't run away again… yet. Ichiraku's is pulling us in for the day for washing dishes and such. You know they pay pretty well, so don't be too miffed about it."

Fury didn't care if it was lame as hell, it was her first mission! She was getting really happy about it… when she noticed something.

"Uh… where's Shino?" She asked, addressing the issue of the creepy bug guy missing.

"Visiting Hinata." Kiba answered before Kurenai could. "Apparently she wanted to give a camera to him so she wouldn't miss anything while she was in the hospital. He should be back soon."

"Soon as in now."

Fury and Kiba turned around to see Shino entering the area. Sure enough, he had a camera hanging around his neck. "Sorry it took me."

"No problem." Kurenai assured. "You're the ones who get docked money if you're late, not me." She smiled, turning. "Let's go!"

When you're told that you're going to be doing dishes for a day… you assume that it's going to be easy.

Any person that assumed this, (Fury) would be quick to learn that dish washing could be hell on a busy day, which was every day. When they got there, Fury took the sinks; willing to get dishpan hands. Kiba's job was keeping the counter clean why trying not to rip through cleaning rags with the claws on his hands.

… and Shino stood aside and took pictures. Lots of pictures. What of? C'mon, you put three people in a cramped back area for the amount of time it takes Kiba to wash out the current counter rag, _someone _is going to get splashed. It helped make the day go faster, honestly. Suddenly washing dishes wasn't so boring because Kiba would come back pretty often, and she'd get him with the squirty hose on the sink.

Thank goodness that the owner took it all in good humor, even when Kiba came out to wash the counters and it looked like someone had shoved his head into the sink… mainly because someone had. And let's not forget Akamaru, who was handling anything that happened to fall on the floor whilst customers were eating. Usually when this kind of mission was handed out, that was Shino's job. On the other hand, it was usually Hinata who would wash counters, and Kiba would handle dishes; and Akamaru's breed loved water. The dog was known for sitting in the sink for dirty dishes, not minding all the impurities floating around, and Kiba would spray him off later.

It was near the end of the day that the grand finale took place. Everything was winding down; less people coming in, and it would be just a little while longer before the owner closed up shop for the night. It was dark out, but bright in the shop and the back while Fury was finishing up with the last pots and pans. The owner had given Shino the keys, expecting them to lock up the back areas since there was nothing in the front, and left. Kiba had come in from washing the counter for the last time, and pulled a little trick that involved squishing out the remaining water in the damp rag on the back of her neck, thus letting it dribble down the back of her shirt.

"Ack!" She yelped, turning upon Kiba with none other than the squirty hose, getting him in the face. "Kiba, that's cold!"

Kiba tried to protect his face with the rag. "Yeah well your water is hot!" He gave back, laughing.

Shino, aside, snapped a picture. Hinata would probably laugh at that one.

Kiba, pretty much at Fury's mercy while she had the hose, threw the rag at her face so he could try and nab it from her. This attempt was wasted though, as she caught it and threw it back at him. He ducked it, and the door into the front of the shop was still open, letting the rag fly not only outside, beyond the counter, but to hit someone in the face who was outside.

Fury quickly put the hose down to go see who it was and apologize profusely. "I'm sorry! We didn't see you—"

Her voice died as Kiba grabbed her, trying not to laugh.

"Eh…" Kiba gave, snickering. "Sorry Sarutobi-Sama…"

Yes, Fury had just hit the Hokage in the face with a wet rag.

The whole scene burst into laughing as Shino leaned out of the doorway, snapping another picture.

The Hokage pulled the wet rag off of his face, smiling lightly, walking over and giving it to Kiba. "You might want to be a little more careful." He gave, straightening his hat, which had been nearly thrown off when he was hit. As usual, he was wearing Konoha's colors; red and white traditional robes with the matching hat.

"Yeah." Kiba smirked, looking at Fury. "Be a little more careful so you don't hit the village leader in the face!"

Fury suddenly went blank in the face, the 'OMFG' look. She had never met Sarutobi before, so she hadn't known who he was. Quickly, she yelped and bowed. "Oh my gosh I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to!"

Kiba gave her a quick punch in the arm to get her to stand up again as Hokage started to chuckle at her. "Come now, I'm not going to get mad over a damp rag. My face could use a wash."

Fury laughed slightly, still a little nervous. Loor had mentioned the Hokage before, since she had met him, but Fury had expected him to be a stern dude who'd be quick to get pissed over something small, one of those old guys who doesn't like things being out of order… what she was seeing of Sarutobi was some person like a really cool grandpa. Kiba was quick to make a joke. "Yeah, Hokage-sama. If you want, we got a spray hose back here."

The old man shook his head, still smiling.


	57. Evening Walk

**Markings- Chapter Fifty Seven  
Evening Walk**

One hundred laps.

That was Loor's total for sticking Neji to the wall, and Gai had said that was light. Obviously, her teacher was not happy, but Loor was still rather smug… it was dark out and Neji had recently fallen asleep, still sticking to the wall, and she got to poke him every time she passed just so he'd stir, curse at her, and go back to sleep. The laps were slow going because she was saving sprinting for when the streets were fully empty so she didn't crash into anyone. Kankuro had left as a favor to her to go keep an eye on Gaara. She didn't want him to panic when he woke up… and Kankuro needed something to do anyway.

Loor had to admit though… walking all day; her legs hurt and her feet were numb. She wondered if she'd have the energy to sprint later on, but reminded herself that most shops were closing up right now; things would be empty soon.

Thing was, that left her alone with herself… again.

_**Why the hell are you still doing this?**_

That took long enough. She sighed at herself, who did have a point. Gai had already left for the day. She could quit now, at eighty-seven laps, and say she did it all the next day. Still… she had a thought go through her mind of the conversation she'd had with Lee the other night… the thing between Gai and Kakashi, how Gai had done all the laps on his hands even though no one was keeping an eye on him to make him do them. It was self-discipline.

It was the point.

_Because I am. Got an issue with it? _

_**You do. You're bored. **_

_So noted. _She frowned, passing one of the four bridges that crossed over a small river that ran through the main village. The bridges marked the north south running main streets that all centered on the Hokage's residence, the great stone faces behind that, carved into the mountain face. The first time Loor had looked at the stone faces, she hadn't known the structure between herself and the mountain was where the Hokage lived, but after what Kankuro said it was pretty easy to assume. The third bridge was what she called main-main street; it went from the front gate of the wall to the Hokage's home. This was her marker for how many laps she'd completed.

"Eighty Eight…" She counted out loud as she passed it, yawning. Odd, Konoha was so big and yet the city-like part of the village was pretty compact… for looking like New York. Only twelve to go, but eighty-eight had taken her from eight that morning to at least eleven at night. Fifteen hours for eighty-eight laps… half of them jogged or sprinted out of boredom, just using the dash technique.

So how long were twelve going to take? Her mind tried to do the math, but she didn't want to. It was other places, on other issues, wondering on other things.

She was almost nervous… a lot of attention had been brought to her curse mark of late.

_Where the hell do you think that SOB is?_

_**If you're talking about Neji, he's still stuck to the wall, where you left him.**_

_No shit Sherlock, I'm talking about the other asshole…_ She put her hand over her mark, frowning to herself. _You'd think someone like him wouldn't be one to be made scarce… unless he's planning something, and if he is I can guarantee that I won't like it… and it's obvious from the last encounter he's been watching me. He knows Fury is one of my weak points… if he decided to do something to her…_

_**Take it easy girl! You're talking like you're planning war with the man, or he is with you.**_

_It's as good as… nothing wrong with being ready. _She sighed, shaking her head and looking around. Even now, she felt like she was being watched… it brought her back to her nightmares, the ones she'd been having every night since she arrived. She was yet to have even one good dream, but the things that had happened to her took full responsibility to that.

"Loor!"

That was the second time she'd been called out that day. Turning around and walking backwards, Loor raised an eyebrow as she saw a group of three walking for her.

At the head of the group was Fury, who had yelled her name, seeming none too happy with her. Flanking her was Kiba, who looked rather amused, and last in the group was…

Someone Loor hadn't seen since the chunnins. "You guys gotta move a little faster, I ain't stopping!" Loor shouted back, staring at the third person in the group.

What the hell was Kabuto doing here?

The trio jogged to catch up to where she was, and Fury's first action was to smack her over the head. "Loor, what the hell were you thinking?!"

Loor laughed slightly, rubbing her head and turning to walk the correct direction again. "I don't know, what was I thinking?"

"You stuck Neji to a wall!" Kiba gave, laughing now. "We heard all about it." Kiba then offered his hand for a high-five, which Loor took with a grin.

"Kiba!" Fury snapped. "Loor, I don't care if he nearly killed you, that's not very nice!"

"Yeah." Loor shrugged. "I'm not a nice person." She then glanced over at Kabuto. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I ran into Fury when she was on her way to see you and decided to tag along." Kabuto gave, trying to smile. "I heard about what happened at the chunnins… broken ribs are pretty nasty, got any interesting scars from trying to move before you were supposed to?"

"Want any scars for that jab you just dished out, four eyes?" Loor growled back, glaring.

"Loor." Fury gave, sounding stern. Loor turned her glare upon Fury, who at once turned sheepish. "Well… you could try to be a little more polite… sorry…"

"It's okay, Fury, I'm used to it." Kabuto assured. "I wasn't expecting Loor to roll out the red carpet for me."

"Hey, Kabuto," Kiba gave a small smirk. "Did you get reamed by your sensei for failing the chunnins for the _eighth_ time?"

Fury was seeming dually annoyed now, and just shut up. She was one to give silent treatment when she was mad because someone would yell back if she decided she wanted to pick a bone. Why was it that neither her sister nor Kiba could deal with Kabuto? Okay, she understood that Kiba felt threatened by him even thought Kabuto was four years older than them, but Loor had no reason to dislike him other than the reason she disliked Kiba! And Kabuto was actually polite and nice most of the time!

It was getting kinda old.

"Hey… Kiba… my head hurts…" Fury muttered, using the easiest ploy to get away from the unsatisfactory situation. "Let's go home."

"Eh?" Kiba gave, looking at her. She gave him the most pathetic look she could muster, which was pretty good, and he nodded. "Oh… well, okay."

Loor's hand shot back, grabbing Fury's shoulder. "I think not. Dog boy can go home, and so can the Harry Potter wannabe, but the sisters need to talk."

"Loor, let me go!" Fury growled, batting Loor's hand away. "I want some space!"

Loor turned and pulled her sister close, a forced hug around the shoulders, and glared up at both boys. "I suggest you both put at least fifty yards between your persons and me before I kill you both."

Kabuto and Kiba stared, glanced at each other, and then turned slowly, waving. "Uh… alright Loor… just bring her back in one piece…" Kiba muttered.

"I'll attempt." Loor muttered.

There was silence aside from Fury trying to struggle away from her big sister and muffled cries of '_Onee-san!_' as the boys sank into the shadows, disappearing completely around the corner. Once that happened, Loor let go, and Fury pushed her sister with a heavy force, looking pissed off.

"What the hell was that all about?!" Fury snapped.

"You tell me." Loor gave back, glaring. "You know how I act and yet you still have to give me the evil eye when I say something even _slightly_ offensive to anyone."

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh, _sure_, you can be really dumb sometimes, you know that? And you can't even talk to me about it! No, you have to go and play dead, run away, like a little girl!"

"Well maybe I am a little girl, and maybe you are too! We can't all be high and mighty and mature like you, Loor!" Fury panted slightly.

Loor smirked. She liked this side of Fury; her anger had been exposed. It was a tough thing to do, but it was honestly good for the girl to vent, even if they were fighting. They'd clear it up later. "I'm not talking about acting like an adult, I'm saying you need to grow out of that two-year-old 'if I cry I'll get what I want' behavior your mother trained you into!"

"Are you frickin' kidding me?! You're calling me immature when you stuck some kid to a wall for your own amusement??"

"I stuck a kid to a wall because he deserved it!"

"Well you can be a real bitch, damn it!"

Silence. Both girls glared at each other, hands tight into fists, panting. They had nothing left to scream over. So what was left?

Loor started to laugh.

It was hardly happy laughter, it was more of 'god it feels so good to finally get it all out' laughter. After a few moments, Fury started giggling too. The girls shook their heads at their own behavior, walking on and trying not to cry at the same time because of the massive release.

Somewhere above them, where the boys had chosen to hide and peep on the argument, Kiba and Kabuto looked at each other in confusion, trading a look of 'what the hell was that about??' They didn't quite understand what this release had resolved between the two girls as they suddenly started calmly discussing what they had been shouting about, and then talking about what had happened during the time they were apart.

It was almost like nothing had happened...

Down below, most issues were worked out very quickly. The girls had gotten their feelings out about recent occurrences and were left to talking about ongoing issues like normal friends would... though normal friends would usually be talking about their favorite store closing down or getting sick, where the issues these two discussed were a little out of the ordinary.

"So what the hell is up with Gaara?"

Loor shot a look at Fury, since the question had come from the blue. They had been talking about how Fury's mission went before, and all of the sudden she asked this. "He's still sleeping, why?"

"Loor, he's been sleeping for more than a day." Fury's voice had sank back to solid tones, the ones she used when she was mad. All she was trying to do was be serious, hoping to get Loor onto a most honest part of her brain. "Something's not normal. Either he's comatose or you're not telling me something."

Loor felt herself flush. It felt like getting caught in the act back at home... like when her mother would walk in, bearing the list of late assignments, asking Loor what it was all about when she already knew. The only difference here was that Fury had no idea what this was all about.

She hadn't a clue.

Loor opened her mouth, tempted to lie, but didn't. She gave a long sigh, and finally nodded. "There is something..." She gave.

Fury's face should have not gone to the expression of surprise, but it did. Loor hiding things from her was _not_ new, but she was surprised every time. "What is it?"

"You'd think I was lying." Loor gave, trying to dodge, wishing she had shoved her foot in her mouth instead. "It's crazy."

"Loor." Fury gestured around them. "Crazy? For us?"

"Heh... good point." She nodded a little. "Okay... well... he told me a while back, before the first part of the chunnins, and I didn't tell you because... I didn't think you needed to know. But... Gaara, he..."

Fury stared, and Loor shifted under her gaze. She didn't want to go and tell Gaara's biggest secret like that, but he hadn't told her like it was a secret. He told her the horror of his mind as if he had told a million people.

"He has a demon inside of him."

"He's possessed?!" Fury yelped.

"_Can_ be possessed." Loor corrected, shaking her head. "The demon lives inside of him and his name is Shukaku... I don't know a whole lot about him, but Shukaku makes it so Gaara doesn't need to sleep. Thing is, when a demon takes on a human host, it's nothing but a mass of chakra... so when Gaara requested training from me, we had to drain Shukaku because it was the demon that made the sand protect Gaara against his will; Shukaku would protect his own host to avoid death."

"So you could actually land a blow and let the pain teach him, huh?" Fury had heard the line 'pain is the best teacher' a thousand and some times.

"Right. Well... with Shukaku drained the beast withdrew to sustain himself... leaving Gaara free to sleep for the first time in years. He's making up for lost time."

"What happens if Gaara sleeps anyway, while Shukaku is still active?"

"Bad things." Loor said quickly, quietly. "If Gaara chooses to sleep, Shukaku can posses him completely. I've never seen a full possession, and I don't want to. He's dangerous enough on a half point."

"Half point?"

"On full moons..." Loor gave slowly. She wasn't sure how much she could say before Gaara would get mad at her. Still. She had already come this far. "Shukaku gets a type of power boost. Gaara can't resist him when he's that powerful, and the demon takes over his conscious mind for the night. He's not full power, but I've seen that... and it's pretty bad."

"You've seen it?!" Fury yelped. "And you're not dead?"

"Do I look dead?" Loor sighed. "I got lucky. If I had to face him down again... he would be fully able to kill me."

"That's a great thing..." Fury muttered sarcastically. "As if enough people didn't want to kill you already."

'I must be an easy to hate person or something..." Loor giggled slightly and then looked up. "I'm really worried about him though... The chunnin finals are what... a week and a half away now? Two weeks?"

"Twelve days." Fury gave. Loor glanced at her, and Fury shrugged. "Kiba's been keeping track."

"Anyway, a week and a half then, and if he sleeps too long he'll go right past it. It would kinda suck to be disqualified... and it would be my fault if that was the case... and I know that he's only able to sleep because Shukaku was forced to rest in order to replenish his chakra. What if Shukaku recovers faster? That's gonna be hell for the village if that's the case..."

There was a bit of silence. "So... that's why you've been treating him, huh? The one case you'll never see at home..."

"Yeah... I'll never meet another like him."

Fury suddenly grinned. "Alright, I get how this all happened."

"How what all happened? I just told you, there's not much else to get."

"There's plenty more to get, like how you ended up liking him." Fury hopped away as Loor faked a punch at her. "You took him on because he was different, found out about the demon, and decided to put your skills to the test because he was the ultimate case. There's just one problem, and you've done it with every person you've tried to help, including me."

"And what's that...?" Loor asked, getting ready to go to defensive.

"You got attached."

Loor stared for a few moments, and expressed a small smile. Perhaps Fury had grown up more than she knew about. This wasn't teasing... Fury was laying out the facts to try and help Loor deal with herself.

And it was helping.

"Yeah... I guess I did." She shook her head, putting her arm over Fury's shoulder. The girls walked together, and Loor's voice had gone soft, almost musical. "Just like you did... it's cute what you and Kiba have... I don't mean to yell as much as I do. It's just that you're my little sister. I'm allowed to be a little protective."

"A little?" Fury joked. "Remind me to get you a chastity belt as pay back."

"Alright, more than a little. My point is that... we've both found someone... we've both gotten attached... but we both still have to leave in the end."

Fury stared a little at Loor. "_Onee-san..._"

"I know. I don't like it either, but we can't just leave our home behind... I just feel like... I don't know, now with what Orochimaru did to me..." She put her free hand on the mark on her neck. "I feel like, more now than ever, that we have to go back and protect everyone there."

Fury nodded sadly, frowning a little and looking back to where they had left the boys. "I'm gonna miss him..."

Loor nodded, ruffling her younger sister's hair.

The chunnins were fast approaching... where this would come to its climax, and it's close.


	58. Cocky Much?

**Markings- Chapter Fifty Eight  
Cocky Much?**

A week and some had become a blink of an eye within Gaara's mind. He'd been under for so long, and yet he didn't even know it. He'd been into his sleep so deeply, below the level of dreaming, only rest that his body and mind needed to sustain sanity of any type.

It took him but three days away from the chunnins, not that he knew. Waking up had to take a whole day on its own, seeing as the first stage was coming into a shallow enough sleep that he could dream for the first time in his life.

Yes, he had a dream. He could hardly remember it by the time he woke up, but he knew he had panicked at first. Usually the only occurrences in his unconscious mind were nightmares that Shukaku made sure he would have; things that would rip away his sanity in every way possible. But as he found himself among the failure village of Suna, he found the raccoon nowhere to be seen.

He sat upon a tower of the Kazekage's palace, his father's house, his home, blue eyes staring out at a full moon night, stars and moon reflecting off of the silver grains of sand and sandstone that made up everything in Suna, objects that usually shined yellow in full light. An imagined warm breeze swept through, oddly moist and comforting for the dry scene. Not that he didn't enjoy it. It only rained once or twice a year in Suna, but rain always heralded festivals where everyone would leave him be, even Temari and Kankuro would let him alone to enjoy themselves.

But being alone didn't seem nearly as appealing as it used to.

He sat and began to notice things about his village that were not the same. Not a single person wandered the streets, he could see, and the air smelt different... it reminded him of someone, but he didn't know who.

A hand brushed his neck, and he glanced back. The ice of his eyes found water in another set of eyes, and her hand on his shoulder was like the summer rain, soft and comforting.

"Loor..." He whispered her name.

She smiled, mute in nodding while sitting beside him, looking out at Suna herself, aqua eyes seeming fascinated with his home. Not truly aware that he was dreaming, he wondered how she got here to sit with him, his favorite nighttime retreat from the world. He almost opened his mouth to ask that question of her, but didn't.

"It's beautiful..." She gave, looking at the stars' light sparkle in all the sand below.

He nodded, having never really thought any place beautiful. He thought about the torture that had been put upon him in particular places, but never of how they looked. He took it for granted.

He glanced at her as she sighed, leaning on him a little. Her skin was warm, and he looked at her as she turned her head to him, smiling dreamily. "On the other hand..." She put her hand into his hair, lacing her fingers in it. "Everything can be beautiful... if you give it a chance."

He stared at her, the way she had her head rested on his shoulder, the way her hand covered his, how close their faces were, and flashed on the memory of her... touching Lee in that one way, the way that had made him insanely jealous, even though he didn't know what it was.

He wanted her to touch him like that... and in this strange setting, this odd flight of fancy, she seemed to know it.

"Close your eyes, Gaara..." She whispered, leaving little space between their faces.

Her words... her voice... her scent... her eyes, they all intoxicated him. He did as he was told...

But never felt what he wanted. What would have been the moment their lips met was the exact moment he had completely woken up. He didn't jump or yell as he woke, he didn't even gasp.

His eyes just came open to be greeted by a room he had only seen once before. Regardless, he had seen it under the cover of darkness, so he wasn't sure where he was. At first, he was ready to panic, but turned his head to one side to get a better view of where he could be.

To one side, he saw the door to the room he was in was open, leading into a kitchen/dining area... where there were blankets on the floor. Ah, he remembered now. This was Lee's apartment... where Loor lived for the time being. Loor must have brought him here after what happened... when she was trying to train him. He must have been sleeping in Lee's bed then.

But for how long had he been here?

About to sit up, he stayed where he was as he heard someone fumbling with the door from the outside. Who was coming in? Loor could be the only person... unless it was Temari or Kankuro, sent by her to check on him...

That is, unless it was the owner of the apartment.

Yes, it was Lee who let himself in. His recovery had reached the point where the hospital would let him walk about the village on his crutches for about an hour a day, and he had decided to go and see how badly Loor had mussed up the apartment at this point. It was oddly clean to tell the truth, but our black haired friend wasn't exactly expecting a particular someone to be laying on his bed as he hobbled over to look into his room.

They stared at each other in surprise. Lee knew that Loor had brought Gaara here, but the two boys had not seen each other since Gaara had nearly killed Lee.

It was a silence that froze time; millions of thoughts flashing through the air from both minds. Lee pivoted his crutches back, preparing for a retreat, as Gaara got a grip on his chakra, ready to attack... The younger red head started to breath heavily though, wheezing slightly, as he found something to be wrong.

He threw a directing hand forward, out of the bed covers, a hand that would have told sand that Shukaku supplied him with to entrap the elder boy. Upon seeing Lee, all he could think of was the need to kill him; jealousy, anger, hate, all stemming off of this boy alone. Old emotions that caused him to want for his oldest and longest addiction; death.

Lee flinched at the hand that Gaara directed at him, backing up a little, panting, and seeming fearful, just like he should have been.

But there was just one thing... no sand came. Gaara had none with him, but Shukaku usually fixed that when it came to killing someone. But there was nothing, and Gaara didn't understand it.

"Why do you hesitate?" Lee asked, his voice small. He knew he was staring death in the face, and was in no condition to stop it. Perhaps he wanted it... as an easy way out.

Gaara panted slightly, breathing through his mouth, dropping his hand... "I... I can't."

"What...?" Lee crutched himself a step forward, slightly into the room, when Gaara made a primal sound of warning. Lee stilled, and the red head bent his head, clutching it with both hands...

Lee stood there, watching as if afraid that the boy would figure what was wrong and kill him anyway. Still, he didn't disturb the boy. Loor talked about Gaara a lot, about what kind of help the boy needed, but Lee had seen the depths of Gaara's fighting insanity... he personally thought that Gaara couldn't be helped.

Gaara seemed to find whatever answer he was looking for, looking back up at Lee, and still seeming insane and angry, but not killer. Something of his intensity had been muffled by whatever answer he found.

"It..." Gaara frowned, insanity replaced with confusion. "It's still asleep..."

"What is...?"

Gaara glanced up, as if in a fraction of a second he had forgotten Lee was there, even though he had just looked at him. "I need to see Loor." He said, dodging the question.

"Why?" Lee questioned, seeming confused while coming further into the room.

"Because... I do. What do you care?" The boy had sat up at this point, reaching for his clothes that were neatly folded up on the foot of the bed. Oddly, Lee got there first so the younger boy didn't have to leave the warm blankets to get his stuff, handing them to the boy in bed.

Gaara stared up at him, slowly taking the pile. "I've made it clear that I want you dead."

"But you can not carry out the deed right now." Lee took a load off by sitting on the end of the bed, extending his hurt leg and relaxing the bad arm, wincing. "I will not take advantage of a rival in weak condition."

"Rival?" Gaara questioned, pulling his netted shirt on first, following it by his normal black T-shirt. He noticed all the clothes had been washed whilst he was out of it... he had to wonder how long that had been, but wasn't going to ask.

"Yes, that is how I view you." Lee flashed one of his trademark smiles. "But I'll challenge you in more ways than the ways of a shinobi."

Gaara suddenly got why Lee was testy after the mention of Loor. "If you challenge me in that game... you will lose."

"The contest for women has no losers, just people who did not get quite what they wanted."

There was a pause as Gaara turned off of the bed to pull his pants on.

"Do you love her?"

That struck Lee oddly, and he stared at Gaara for it. "Do you?"

Gaara's icy eyes stared down at the floor, where his shoes were. He stared at the surface as if it could tell him how he felt. "I think I can love her... that's more than enough of a reason to fight you for her."

"Well said." Lee nodded, smiling. "But I've never lost a challenge without putting up a fight."

"I've never lost." Gaara muttered, pulling on his shoes.

"How much longer will you be staying?" Lee prodded, gently.

"Not long..." Gaara sighed, getting up. He was gourd-less, so his whole body felt oddly light. "But why are you here?"

"It is my home." Lee's voice threatened to stop being so polite. "Do I need a reason?"

"You're on crutches... if you fall and hurt yourself more, people will blame the person who hurt you in the first place."

"You mean Loor will blame you." Lee corrected the sentence quickly, frowning.

Gaara was feeling it again, the urge to kill. Sadly, he had no ability at the moment, which is why he had to find Loor. "Where is she?"

"A friend offered to have her and her sister come train with him today... well... she used the word 'friend' very sarcastically, so maybe not a friend of hers."

"His name?" Gaara questioned, going the no-nonsense way about this.

"Kabuto."

* * *

"Kabuto!!"

"Fury!" Said silver haired teenager greeted, waving. Fury, rather enthusiastic, ran up to Kabuto and gave him a quick hug before turning back to her sister, who was a lot more dignified and a lot less happy about being here. On the edge of the woods, Kabuto's team practiced. It would only seem that it was him and his sensei that were there aside from their guests. Both other team members had been hospitalized during the chunnin exams, and neither of them would be good for training for a bit longer.

When Loor met Kabuto, she was sure everything about his look and nature that she could read was screaming 'deceiving little snake.' Well, if his features were screaming it, his sensei's features were doing it in the screechy opera tones that would break glass. Kabuto was nothing but a green little gardener snake compared to his viper-like sensei.

The man was a jonin by dress, wearing the all black outfitting under the green vest with a crap load of pockets and his leaf headband on his forehead. He was pasty pale with smooth features, ink black hair back into a long and slick ponytail. He didn't move as the girls arrived and were greeted by his student, standing with a slight smirk on his face and his arms crossed in front of his chest.

The only thing that moved were his eyes, a bright and almost unnatural yellow. While Fury and Kabuto caught up on some stuff, Loor's eyes picked up on this bright glitter and glanced over, raising an eyebrow.

As if she wasn't already suspicious enough.

The sensei seemed to notice her mounting suspicion and gave a shrug, the smirk widening. "Kabuto." He gave, a softer voice making easy work of cutting into the conversation between his student and the other guest. "Perhaps you should introduce your friends."

Even the voice was getting to Loor's brain, irritating her.

"Oh, sorry sensei!" Kabuto nodding, giving a slight bow as an apology. "This is Fury, the one I'm always talking about." He said this while patting Fury's back. "And the blond over there is her big sister, Loor."

Fury blushed a little at the comment of 'the one I'm always talking about.' Loor rolled her eyes, giving a two-fingered salute. "Yo." She muttered, walking over, near the sensei, and looking for something to lean on. Sadly they were just on the edge of the woods where it was long grass around the training area. The training area itself was like a sparring ground where all the grass had been tramped down. There were a few little trees about too, but nothing aside from that. If she wanted a tree to lean on, she'd have to go towards the woods another ten feet.

"It's very nice to meet you!" Fury gave, much more polite, giving a little bow and coming up smiling.

"And you." The sensei nodded slightly. "Though I can say your sister is slightly less of a pleasure."

"Get used to it." Loor snorted, looking bored. "I was dragged along."

"Loor!" Fury squealed. "I didn't force you to come along. You insisted!"

Loor seemed to ignore Fury as she pointed that fact out, looking at the sensei. "Do we get to know your name?"

"Of course." He nodded, giving a oily smile. "I expected Kabuto to introduce me, but my name is Jaaku."

"Jaaku?" Fury questioned, seeming confused. "Doesn't that mean 'evil'?"

"Indeed it does." Jaaku sensei snickered. "It would seem we have a linguist among us. Kabuto, I thought you said these two were outsiders."

"We are!" Fury seemed rather proud of herself for knowing a bit of extra language even though they weren't around these parts.

"Fury," Kabuto cocked his head to the side. "You never mentioned where you and your sister were from."

"A different village." Loor broke in, snorting a little and glaring at Kabuto as if to say 'it's none of your freaking business.'

"Is it here in the Fire country?" Jaaku asked.

Loor and Fury traded looks. What had Kurenai said to say if someone asked? "Yeah." They answered in stereo. Loor winked at Fury to take it and make the story a little less shaky. "It's a little village, and we didn't know anything about ninjas and such. There was an attack on the place... bandits and such, and a few Konoha jonin were close enough to help out... but they were kinda late. Me and Fury made a run for it when the attack started. We were brought here when we were found, but it sounds like the village is still in rough shape so they wanted us to have training before we went back."

Kabuto and Jaaku traded looks this time, and Kabuto seemed curious. "Didn't your village have some sort of army or law enforcement to fight back? Bandits don't get that tough unless they're in big groups... they stay away from villages."

"We don't have any real fighters." Fury put in, and Loor gave her a nod to run with it. "The village is so small it's probably not even on the map. Kakashi and Kurenai kinda expect us to use our training to teach some other people back at home so we can protect ourselves."

"They should be sending you home soon then." Jaaku sensei gave. "I've heard rumors about you two being able to take on leaf nin that are going to the chunnin finals. That should be plenty strong to stand up against a few cocky bandits."

"They are..." Loor gave, taking it up again. "But me and Fury wanted to see the outcome of the chunnins. It's pretty interesting... and we didn't know anything about this stuff before. It's kinda a once in a lifetime thing."

"You'll enjoy it, I'm sure." Jaaku agreed, nodding. "That is, if you have the stomach for it. More often than not, people die... or worse."

Fury shrugged. "I already saw the aftermath of the semi finals as they entered the hospital. I think we'll be able to handle it, Loor was one of the victims."

"Victims?" Loor snickered. "I wasn't a victim, I was some retard who went past the fence because I was being cocky."

Kabuto gave a smirk. "Hey, Loor, if you're still feeling a little cocky, I'd be up for a bout with you and your sister."

"You kidding?" Fury asked. "You mean... like?"

"You two against me." Kabuto smiled, looking up at his sensei. "That is, if that's okay with everyone."

"You're too considerate Kabuto." Jaaku gave. "Though I think a couple of ladies are going to break your glasses if you're not careful."

Fury and Loor looked each other. They'd never fought as a team...

Loor grinned. "Bring it on!"


	59. Play Practice

**Markings- Chapter Fifty Nine  
Play Practice**

For those who couldn't already tell, Jaaku was Orochimaru in disguise. He'd been posing as Kabuto's sensei for a long time now, and the name he used was, honestly, a childhood nickname from one of his teammates when he was a training leaf nin, but that was a long time ago.

Everything was going right to the plan too. Having Fury and Loor here for a training session was actually very important, as was the fight with them against Kabuto. Like every chunnin exam that Kabuto had ever taken, he was going to lose on purpose. There were two points to this. One was to see how well the two worked together, to see if their collective force was something to be worried about. Silly things like that were not to be worried about during the final stages. The other thing was Loor's behavior around Fury... they had to get it right.

Even the most skilled actor would ruin their own performance if they didn't have the right lines. As it would be at the chunnins if anything went wrong.

Loor and Fury set themselves up to go against Kabuto. It was a classic ambush start positioning. Loor stood in front, Fury behind, and Kabuto was the monkey in the middle. As Loor stood there, she was taking a quick stock. She'd sparred loads of times with TenTen and Neji in the past week and some, and had still been upping her leg weights the whole time. She had made it to full weight on both legs now, the full hundred, and yet she could still move as if it were nothing because she never let up on herself. She wore them all the time too, which had made Lee rather proud.

She'd also gone out of her way to talk to TenTen about the mark on her neck. Sadly, it was in a place where just about everyone could see it. Now, thanks to the same girl who gave Loor her weapon, there was heavy cover up over the black mark so it was not so easily seen. It looked more like a funny and faded bruise than anything else.

Fury, behind everyone, was feeling confident. She, Kiba, and Shino had been training hard and taking missions on the off days. Not only had she been gaining experience, she'd been making money off of the little fees taken for D rank missions. Granted most of them were stuff like baby sitting and chasing down lost pets, but it was worth it all the same. Kiba had been training her with agility and strength (she could do twenty push-ups now, with Akamaru sitting on her back), Kurenai helped her with genjutsu a lot, and even Shino pitched in to teach her a fun trick or two.

Kabuto turned himself sideways to his targets, seeing both of them out of the corners of his eyes, trying to be lax. Jaaku stood there, still smirking, as everyone was watching him for the signal to start.

"Entertain me."

Loor sprinted forward at her target, who darted out of her way at once. It would seem that Fury had the same idea of dashing up though, and the sisters met in the middle, Loor grabbing Fury by the shoulders and launching her at Kabuto as the male had made a quick turn to go on the offense. Fury met him in the middle, aiming a quick attack that was blocked as the two locked up into a quick and short bout of defense and offense, both sides just as fast as dishing it out as blocking it. It was almost impossible to see which limbs were moving.

Kabuto broke out of it as Loor came in from the side, fast as anything. Breaking away to dodge allowed Fury to get a shot in though, smacking a kick into his side that brought him back into Loor's line of fire.

Loor jumped right before Kabuto came into her range, chakra assisted, going right over him to shove her foot into his back. Where most opponents would have taken a face full of dirt, he saved face by rolling forward and getting back to his feet.

"You're both pretty quick..." He muttered, glancing back and forth as the sisters distanced from each other. They traded a look and a nod, and grinned back at him.

"You're not having trouble, are you?" Loor gave, sounding a little more cocky than usual. Maybe having back up got a person to feel a little untouchable.

He backed up a little, glancing back and forth, preparing for another attack. "A little."

"That's too bad." Fury snickered. "If you have trouble with two, let's see how you like ten."

Kabuto watched as they both made another rush, both of them preparing a doppelganger jutsu as they ran. He growled, going for Fury, who was better at genjutsu and illusions. The logical choice...

That is, if Loor didn't break from her rush to tackle him. She missed, and suffered a kick to the stomach for it, but Fury finished her jutsu, producing perfect copies of both girls. Sure enough, including the real ones, there were ten of them. Before Kabuto knew it, he was surrounded. The real ones had mixed up with the fakes in a big circle of ten around one, and all reached for their tools.

"Now then." They all said in unison. "Let's see you find the real ones."

Kabuto went for his own pouch on his leg, looking between them all. In the back of his mind, he knew various genjutsu releases that would make it easy to know which one was real, but all of those were jonin level. To use them would be to expose himself. Instead, he had to do this in a genin way...

Guess and try not to get sticked. He lifted two shurikin out of his pouch, his unaided eyes glancing between them all, ears listening, using his senses to try and decipher it all.

He turned, tossing his weapons at two of the side-by-side copies. The tools went right through, and the images giggled while the two he attacked puffed out of existence.

"Our turn!"

The eight remaining took out their weapons; Fury with sinbons, Loor with shurikin, all throwing at the same time.

Kabuto smirked, seeing a flaw in this plan, ducking quickly while the illusions and real weapons zinged over his head. Of course the real ones went across the circle, attacking two other copies and informing him of where the real ones were. As two more copies vanished, he charged at the corresponding person across the circle; Loor was centered in his sights.

He had also taken out two kunai, ready for a fully lethal shot. Loor seemed to note that he was aiming for the right one about a second before he had gotten into range for attack, ducking under his arm as he swiped at her, grabbing his wrist and twisting it, letting go as he dropped one weapon to jump out of the way of the other. She glanced to the side, directing Kabuto's attention to Fury coming after him. He growled, backing up as she came in with her own kunai in hand.

Fury had a smirk on her face, picking up another speed bout with Kabuto. She wasn't aiming to hit him, she was aiming to push him back as far as she could. The woods, further back, had more environmental things to work with, including loose objects for substitution.

Kabuto seemed to notice this rather quickly, and smirked as they got closer, allowing himself to be pushed back. He would step out of the way of her strikes instead of blocking them, also glancing about, looking for Loor. The girl had to be around, probably laying a trap for him.

Loor's traps were known for being silly but effective. He was sure she'd figured out how to use that sticky jutsu thing in battle by now. He'd heard about what happened to Neji, and didn't really wanna be caught like that. He'd just have to be careful once they were in the woods not to get knocked into anything.

Fury was gaining speed and ground though, and he had to go back to actually blocking because she would lunge at him if he backed out of the way of the attack. The blocks weren't full either, he only managed to glance her off as she started moving faster than he did.

He had to stop looking back and focus on the younger sister if he didn't want her carving a few lines on his face with those kunai.

Behind him, in the woods, Loor was doing what he expected she was doing; setting up a trap. Not quite the one he assumed though, performing a jutsu quickly and quietly, up in one of the smaller trees on the edge. Fury's job was to get him close enough to her tree, and she'd set it up for Fury to give him the last kick across the face.

And he wasn't far now. Fury's speed was an almost impossible level, and Loor watched with a small smile. She'd become so strong in the last two months they'd spent here, training. Not that she herself didn't become strong too, but her strength was of a different type. Fury was speedy, Loor was powerful. The full circle, honestly.

They just had to work together, like they currently were.

With Kabuto unable to keep glancing behind himself, he broke out of the session by rolling away as they hit the woods. Fury threw several thin sinbons after him, scanning about as he practically disappeared.

None of them noticed that Jaaku had followed to keep watching. Loor was almost directly above Fury, holding a kunai in either hand, also looking about for their opponent. The girls didn't speak, and Loor didn't venture from her own place of hiding just to look for the elusive. He'd have to make himself known sooner or later.

Loor suddenly felt the hair stick up on the back of her neck.

"Found you."

Fury looked up as Loor turned to the other person who'd landed on her branch, kicking him off quickly in the most literal sense. Fury pounced once he landed on the ground, making sure he didn't stray far from the trunk of the tree. Kabuto had attempted to surprise Loor to get her away from her position, but ended up putting himself into a corner.

And now the elder sister struck while the enemy was occupied, jumping down as Fury suddenly took a step back, whipping out the two kunai in her hand and slamming them into the tree.

Through the clothes and a little bit of her target's flesh. Kabuto cried out only a little, seeing as she wasn't really aiming to hurt him. The cry was more of a sudden discomfort than pain. He learned why pretty quickly.

Yes, Loor had figured out how to make her tools 'sticky.' Not that Kabuto knew, but she'd also figured out a release to a jutsu in the past week, so he wouldn't be stuck there all that long. Loor moved out of the way after sticking him at the tops of his shoulders, and Fury smirked.

"Give up?"

"I don't think he has to."

All three of the combatants looked back to see Jaaku walking up, giving slight applause. "Not bad ladies." He smirked down at his student. "Kabuto, you've been beaten by people four years younger than you."

"Yeah, but there's two of them." Kabuto defended, trying to move from the tree and wincing. He then gave a sheepish chuckle. "On the other hand, they're both rather good at what they do."

Jaaku glanced at both of the girls, who looked rather proud of themselves. "You two would make fair konoichi if you stayed in leaf village..."

"Konoichi?" Loor questioned the word she didn't know.

"Female ninja." Fury offered, looking at Jaaku. "Right? I heard Hinata use the term once."

"That's right." Kabuto nodded, and then looked to Loor. "Um... how long am I going to be stuck here?"

"Well..." Loor snickered. "I could let you sit there till it wears off, but after the thing with Neji, Gai sensei forced me and Naruto to figure out a release as part of my punishment." She walked up, quickly gathering chakra, forming it with four hand signs, and applying it to her tools. As soon as she did, the sticky went away and she could yank them out, leaving Kabuto free to get off of the tree, even if he was bleeding a little since the tools had been removed.

"Thanks..." Kabuto gave, rubbing his shoulders. The cuts were shallow, they'd scab over soon enough once the bleeding stopped. Fury didn't seem so calm about it though, staring at Kabuto in worry.

"Are you okay...?" Fury questioned, getting a little closer and pushing the rips in his outfit open in order to get a look at the cuts.

"He'll be fine." Jaaku gave, wearing that odd smirk again.

Loor nodded, glancing around. She could hear something... or sense it. Someone was heading their way...

"LOOR!"

All four people looked as a particular sand nin crashed through the brush, panting and looking more than a little frantic.

"Kankuro!" Loor gave, walking up. "What's going on?"

"Gaara's missing!" Kankuro snapped, trying to breathe in a calmer manner. "I went to go check on him... and he's gone!"

"What do you mean, 'gone?'"

"As in he's not at the apartment anymore!!" Kankuro snarled. "Now are you gonna stand there or are you going to help me find him?!"

Loor glanced back, to Fury, who also looked shocked. "You coming with?"

"Of course I am!" She glanced at Kabuto. "It was fun, but..."

Kabuto nodded, and his sensei answered for him. "We understand. Go ahead."

Kankuro was quick to lead the girls away to join the last member of the search party, which was Temari, so they could all split up and look for Gaara. Kabuto and his sensei watched, and as soon as they were sure the girls were long gone, Kabuto tended to his wounds. He shrugged his shirt off, gathering up the energy he had been holding back during the first to his hands, performing the proper signs till his hands glowed a healing green which he then applied to the cuts on his shoulders.

"They're not bad when they work together..." Kabuto muttered. "I'd still be able to take them both, but I'd come out more beat up than this if I fought them seriously."

"You won't need to fight them both, Kabuto." Jaaku, better known as Orochimaru, rested against the tree behind him, crossing his arms again, the smirk on his face growing. "That is, if my actor was watching."

Kabuto looked to the side for the last person that had been present through the whole fight, one of Orochimaru's subordinates. She was a ninja from the Sound village, the one that Orochimaru was the leader of, and her headband marked her as such with a musical note being the identifying mark. It held back her short black hair, having sheet white skin and dark eyes. "Yes, Orochimaru-sama."

"Good, Isaki." Orochimaru smirked. "Everything is falling into place. I assume your partner is ready as well?"

"Ryoshi?" Isaki smiled, nodding. She seemed rather proud of herself. "We will be ready as soon as you give the word."

"Lord Orochimaru..." Kabuto broke in, putting his shirt back on. "What about Gaara? You heard it yourself, he's missing."

"The little sand worm will turn up sooner or later, Kabuto." The snake like man looked around the wooded area, seeming to try and puzzle out something. "Though something is odd. Usually, he makes easy work of tracking people down... if he woke up, he would be looking for Loor. If he is having trouble finding her, there may be something wrong with him that will be crippling to the operation."

"It might be that he didn't wake up, if it's not too bold to say." Isaki gave. She lowered her head at once when both her Lord and his right hand man looked at her. "There are a few people in this village that don't have a very good impression of him... perhaps one of them found out where he was and took him?"

"It's a possibility, Isaki..." Orochimaru muttered. "Get your partner and start a search of your own. Find him and report back." He then turned to Kabuto. "Kabuto... keep an eye on our girls. I wouldn't want something happening to them so close to the finals." He gave an evil grin. "I'm sure it's a show they won't want to miss."

"Not at all..." Isaki agreed, looking at her shoes. She had a slight frown on her face, and Kabuto picked up on it.

"Do you have a bone to pick?" Kabuto questioned.

"The plan... it makes me uneasy." Isaki admitted. "I am sure it will work... but I fear that myself and my partner will not survive."

"If that is the case, Isaki," Orochimaru stood off of the tree he had been leaning upon, turning to her and coming closer to look down at the black haired woman. "You and your lover will die with honor, as you died for the sake of your village's glory. You will have pride in your death, not remorse."

"If Ryoshi alone dies, I will kill myself, Orochimaru-sama." Isaki seemed almost rebellious in saying this. "We know exactly what we are toying with after watching the girl for some time... we expect to die, but don't let the village honor us for dirty deeds."

Orochimaru seemed to laugh under his breath, shaking his head and putting his hand on Isaki's cheek. "If that is the way you will have it, dear girl, then may the village only honor your death if you commit _Supuku_."

Kabuto gasped quietly. _Supuku_, a samurai's suicide, a death so painful it was said to cleanse a person's soul of all it's sins no matter how horrific, preformed by making cuts across one's abdomen and letting your guts spill out, and letting yourself die slowly. If a comrade was with you, they could behead you and still leave your honor intact, but committing Supuku alone would allow such a punishment run it's painful and deadly course.

Isaki saw what she had just done to herself. If Ryoshi died, and she didn't do it, Orochimaru would kill her for not following through on orders she had almost given to herself. She sighed, nodding. "Understood, Orochimaru-sama."

With that, she left, and Orochimaru gave a chuckle, seeming rather amused. "Fickle people will make all the promises in the world for love... it takes a hand of authority to have them make good on it." He shook his head, sneering. "_Love,_ such a petty word. Love only lasts as long as you're happy. The second something goes wrong, the first person you blame is your lover..." He trailed off, and then glared at Kabuto. "You were going to do something?"

Kabuto felt himself color up, nodding. "Yes, Lord Orochimaru!" He nodded, quickly leaving to leave his leader by himself.

Orochimaru glanced at the sky, shaking his head. "_Love..._ so silly... so petty..." He then grinned. "So useful. Love is like setting them all up like dominoes... flick one, and the rest fall because of love, bury them with their love, kill them without touching them..." He grinned, laughing slightly. "Let it kill Gaara once his job is done... I won't need the little brat around once he's done his job...''

The snake-like man nodded along with himself, pacing, planning, and gearing up for the long haul.

Not long now... not long at all.


	60. Freedom Of The Mind

**Markings- Chapter Sixty  
Freedom Of The Mind**

When Loor, Fury, and Kankuro met up with Temari, they had found that Naruto and a boy named Shikamaru had joined the search party. Quickly, everyone separated out into teams of two. Temari the Shikamaru kid ran off towards the Hokage's estate, Fury and Naruto went towards the main of the village, and Loor and Kankuro beat feet for the forest. They knew that the boy could have gone anywhere, but everyone expected Loor and Kankuro to be the fruitful ones in their search. More likely than not, Gaara had left looking for Loor, and would probably check all of the places they usually met up in the woods.

Still, it didn't hurt to look in other places.

Naruto led Fury around the main of Konoha, since he knew it pretty well from running away from all of his favorite prank sites. They moved quickly, going street by street, block by block, aware that the red headed youth could be just about anywhere.

Fury sighed as they scanned more and more streets to come up with nothing, the two of them slowing down to a walk through main street, past Ichiraku's, looking into every corner they passed.

"So..." Fury gave, glancing down an ally. "Why did you join in on the search?"

Naruto shrugged. "I've been hearing a lot about him since he'd been staying with Loor... she's tough to corner but told me about... y'know, what was in him when I asked why she was so worried about him." He looked back, more worried about a passerby listening to the conversation than he was that the male in question might be behind them. "Did she tell you?"

"About Shukaku?" Fury nodded. "Yeah. Still, why would that make you join up?"

Naruto's face creased into a frown. "Loor didn't tell you about me, huh?"

"About you?" Fury seemed confused. "Other than the fact that she's played more pranks with you in the last week than she has at home in her whole life?"

Naruto gave a small laugh; him and Loor had been pulling nights together so she'd have someone to train with after hours. Thanks to that, they ended up talking about the adults they didn't like and then pulling pranks of them. There were a thousand and one ways of pranking people that Naruto knew of, but he always got caught. That's were Loor came in. Loor pulled pranks at home, but she was good at _not_ getting caught. She taught Naruto a thing or two in the last week. "Yeah, that's true, but there's something else. I thought she'd tell you because you're sisters, but I guess she meant it when she promised she wouldn't say a word..."

Fury suddenly seemed concerned. He was talking like something was wrong with him. "What is it?"

Naruto gave a quick scan into a side street they passed, taking a deep breath. "Well... I guess I can trust you... you are Loor's little sister." He then looked at her. "I can trust you, right?"

She nodded quickly, giving a reassuring smile. "I'll never tell a soul! I don't betray people, ever. I'm too polite to, just ask Loor."

Naruto nodded, still looking oddly grave as he looked around again, lowering his voice. "Shukaku isn't the only demon in this village."

"Eh?" Fury seemed confused, staring at him. "What do you mean...?"

"I mean there's another one... in me."

Fury stared in stupefied shock. Her mouth actually hung a little open, and she tripped over her own feet, causing Naruto to catch her before she hurt herself, righting her as she attempted to talk but only squeaked a few words that were too choked to understand.

He shook his head. "Me and Gaara are different though. When I was a baby... when I got my demon, the Kyuubi, it was properly sealed so it couldn't take me over like Shukaku takes over Gaara. Gaara was left alone as a kid, but he knew why where I didn't... I could have become him, but I didn't... maybe I want to make him understand that it doesn't have to be the way it is for him right now. On the other hand, Loor's doing a pretty good job of that herself."

Fury nodded slightly, thinking. "Yeah, she is... but I wonder what's going to happen when they have to part ways. Gaara has to go back to his village sooner or later, and me and Loor... Loor still wants us to go back to our home."

"What?!" Naruto suddenly snapped. "You guys are gonna leave? That isn't fair! Me and Loor still have hundreds of pranks we haven't tried yet! I still have to teach her the sexy jutsu! What about you? I've got a bunch of things that I'm gonna want both of you to help with, all sorts of fun, and you guys are leaving??"

"Don't yell at me!" Fury defended. "Loor's the one who insists that we have to go home sometime."

"What?" He frowned. "But... I've talked with her... she loves it here. She loves learning how to be a shinobi, and she's strong too... she told me about what happened too... her family and all. She's got nothing to go back to."

"It's my family, I think." She gave, looking about again as they passed another side street. Naruto gave her a look, and she quickly answered the question on his face. "We're not really sisters. We're just so close that we call each other that. My family is still alive and well... she wants to go back to protect them."

"Why don't you bring them here?" He suggested. "It's safer here, for all of you. Then you and Loor could join the ninja program for real and your family would be safe!"

"I don't think they'd like it here." Fury muttered, thinking about how her family would take to a place that didn't even have cell phones. Her mother would be freaking out about the whole ninja thing, and her not-quite-step-father (he wasn't married to her mother yet) would probably go insane at the first jutsu he saw, and pass everyone off as a bunch of cheep entertainers. Brining over all the cats wouldn't be a problem though. Lily, Cleo, and Precious would probably like it in Konoha. On the other hand... they probably wouldn't like Akamaru that much.

"Why not?" He asked, looking into a shop they passed. "What's not to like about Konoha?"

"According to me, nothing. My mother would think it one big death trap though... she hardly lets me out of the house at home she's always so afraid of me getting hurt or sick. I'm sure she'd probably lose her mind at the thought of me being a ninja, much less carrying out any missions above the D missions I've been getting... even a C rank would send her up the wall."

"Wow, protective, huh?"

"Way protective." Fury agreed. "Still, when we leave, I'll never forget this place..." She looked around with a sad look on her face. "Me and Loor have both learned a lot in the last two months... I'm sure she won't forget it either. I'm gonna miss everyone."

"Including Kiba too, eh?" Naruto smirked, elbowing her in the ribs. "I've heard a thing or two about you guys from Loor."

"Hey!" Fury yelped, and then gave Naruto a look. "Wait... what does she say?"

"She thinks it's kinda cute, but she's worried about you."

"Worried?" She followed as Naruto led the way around the corner to the next street. "I thought she just didn't like Kiba."

"No, she thinks he's cool cause he's fun to argue with. She thinks that... I don't know, she talks really weird like you're going to have sex with him the second you both hit thirteen because you both think you're in love."

"What?" she stared at him. Loor thought that? Fury knew better than that! Yeah, she wanted a family, but she wasn't going to go having sex before fifteen at least! Not unless she thought the cancer was going to get to her faster than that...

Okay, maybe Loor had a point.

"Yeah. I thought she was kinda over-reacting too." He shrugged. "On the other hand, I think she's pretty crazy all together. It's kinda why I like her, cause I'm crazy too!"

She gave him a look. "You like her?"

He seemed shocked at his own words, yelping. "Oh, n-no! I don't have a crush on her, I mean as a friend... she's already called me her big brother."

Fury gave a slight sigh. "That's good... because I think there's already someone else aside from Gaara that wants a piece of her in that way."

"Lee, right?" Naruto asked. "She had a rant about that once, tired of guys falling for her just because she acts like a guy most of the time, and had it out with me because she was worried I was crushing on her too." He snickered, scratching the back of his head. "But I already have a crush or two, I'm not too fond of girls who act like Loor, at least not like that."

Fury gave him a look, and smirked. "Hinata is one of those crushes, right?"

"Maybe..." Naruto gave a sly smirk. "Her and Sakura, but Sakura's always all over Sasuke..."

Fury sighed, shaking her head. She wondered if Naruto noticed how much Hinata liked him...

Probably not.

She glanced about as they passed a few more side streets and allies, turning up nothing. Naruto was getting impatient, and she was loosing hope of finding him in this area. On the other hand, Naruto was never one to give up, so they kept looking, all the way to the last ally ways of the main village, having been jogging through to cut down on how much time it took.

It was on the last street that they saw him.

He stood with his back to them, the main identifying marks being his one of a kind blood red hair and the large gourd on his back. Naruto lit up when they turned the corner to see him on the empty street, running up. "Gaara, we've been looking everywhere for you!"

Fury didn't seem so excited, watching as Gaara turned to look at Naruto, his arms crossed over his chest. There was something wrong here... she didn't feel the usual killer presence that Gaara had going on. "Naruto..." She gave, a slight voice of warning.

Naruto stopped in front of Gaara, grinning. "Dude, why did you leave the apartment?" He asked, holding out a hand to put on Gaara's shoulder...

His hand went right through.

Fury had been right, it was a genjutsu that disappeared as Naruto contacted it. "He's hiding from us..."

Naruto stared into the space that the illusion had been in. "But... why?"

* * *

"Man... what a drag..."

Temari glanced at Shikamaru before looking back out to the street as they walked just outside the wall that went around the Hokage's estate. In all honesty, it was this guy that was the reason she'd picked up tanning all of the sudden. She had been out relaxing on a hill just outside of the village, napping actually, and when she woke up this guy had been in her company, also napping.

She'd taken to calling him 'Pineapple head' to wake him up because of the way his thick black hair was pulled back into a ponytail. It stuck up perfectly, looking like the top of a pineapple. His first impression of her was some annoying woman who had come to steal his favorite spot to watch the clouds go by, and then they both realized that they were chunnin finalists.

She didn't understand how this lazy guy had managed to get to be a finalist, even though she watched the fight he won to advance. Still, after first impressions were passed, neither of them got up to move from the hill, and ended up sharing it for a day.

Temari kept coming back, just to annoy him. Eventually, somehow, the two got to dealing with each other, and of late actually started being a little friendly. Temari remembered that this guy was still her opponent in the chunnin finals, but it was nice to have someone other than Kankuro to talk to.

When Shikamaru heard that Gaara had gone missing, he offered his help in finding the kid, though he said it like he was being forced. 'If you want my help, I will... if I have to...' were his exact words.

That irked her a little, in a good way. If that were possible.

"You think he might be around here?" Temari asked, a little nervous... She was used to Gaara going missing, but usually she had some bearing on where her brother was. Right now... she didn't get anything. Something was really wrong.

"You tell me..." Shikamaru gave, looking around slowly, walking with a slouch, hands in his pockets. "He's your little brother."

"I know... but I have no idea where he would go. Something is really strange." Temari sighed, looking to the main streets leading away from the Hokage's home. "Gaara has a lot of chakra, so he has a good sense of it, and can find anyone through their chakra signature, and usually me and Kankuro know how to sense him... but I'm not getting anything."

"What if he didn't leave the apartment on his own?" Shikamaru gave, looking at the Hokage's house as they passed the large front gate in the wall, which was wide open. The Hokage was one to welcome his grandson, Konohamaru, and his friends to play within the house, along with people to come and go with their business. "He's got a few enemies in this village, doesn't he? What if one found out he was vulnerable and came to get him?"

Temari hadn't thought of that, and glanced at Shikamaru for putting the thought in her head. "I... I don't know... I would say not to worry, but a few people he's tangled with would do that..."

They walked past the front gate of the Hokage's palace, and Temari sighed, sounding much like Shikamaru. She was worried sick about Gaara... it was less of a worry that he ran now, more of a worry that someone might have kidnapped him. Maybe they had made the boss mad... He might have...

She bit her lower lip. Why had they accepted this mission? If she had known how much trouble there was going to be, she would have even stood up to Baki sensei to stop it. And now, with the alliance with Sound and the plan to attack Konoha during the chunnin finals, there was so much pressure on Gaara to be as insane as he always was.

And now Loor had installed some measure of sanity to her little brother... perhaps Orochimaru, the man their father had made agreements with, had kidnapped her little brother to torture him back into his blood lusting rage.

Temari didn't want to think about what would happen if Orochimaru decided to do that. Even if Shukaku and Gaara had recovered at the same rate, she didn't doubt Orochimaru finding some way of hurting him.

"Temari... what did you say he looked like?" Shikamaru asked, bringing her hurtling back to earth. She gasped slightly, looking at him. She reminded herself again that she was looking at the enemy. If everything went according to plan, she might end up killing the guy she was walking beside.

"Uh... almost thirteen, red hair, mainly black outfit, pale--"

"Wearing a gourd of sand on his back?" He asked.

She nodded, looking at him. "How did you--"

"He's standing right there." Shikamaru pointed down the street to where it would seem the red headed youth was standing, leaning against the wall. Temari started, and then squinted. It looked like Gaara, yes, but something was off.

"One second..." She gave, reaching down to the ground and picking up a small rock from the street. Shikamaru was giving her a look of 'what the hell are you doing?' but didn't say anything as she threw the rock.

He gave a slight smile as the rock 'connected' with the image of her little brother, which puffed out of existence. "Smart." He muttered.

"Thanks." She nodded, frowning. "But... that means he's hiding, and he knew people would be looking for him. He doesn't have his gourd with him, its still back where me and Kankuro are staying, which rules out him getting kidnapped. If another person made those clones, they wouldn't have included the gourd. He left on his own... and he doesn't want anyone finding him just yet." She growled. "There's just one question left... why?"

"You tell me, Temari..." Shikamaru sighed. "Who does he usually get his answers from? Maybe it's not so much of when he gets found, but by whom. He could be confused by something and want to talk to someone."

Temari tried to think, if Gaara was confused, whom would he go to?

She didn't have to think long. Since Gaara became less bloodthirsty, there was only one person that seemed to have all the answers for him.

"Loor."

* * *

"Hey, Loor!"

Said female glanced back at her partner, Kankuro only a few steps behind her. "Eh?" She asked, having been walking briskly.

"Why are you walking so fast?" He asked, catching up those few steps and hopping over a fallen tree. She was bush whacking to get to the clearing with the river as fast as she could.

"I'm worried." She gave, snorting and moving on quickly. "The less time we waste, the better I'm going to feel, so keep moving."

"I don't get you, Loor." He gave, keeping up by almost jogging. She was moving very quick. "You'll fight it tooth and nail to say you don't like my little brother, but the second he'd been threatened or missing all of your feelings shine right through."

"Feelings?" Loor snorted. "What feelings? He's my patient, I worry about his well being for the sake of avoiding recession, nothing more."

"Oh, sure." He laughed at her. "You say that after being at his bedside for at least sixty percent of your time while he was asleep, constantly asking me how he was while I watched over him, and all the other crap you were doing, you're going to say that you're just treating him."

"Yes, because that's all it is." Loor snapped. "And then there's the little fact that its, what, three days to the chunnins? Now that he's moving again, he has almost no time to prepare for it, and guess who's fault it is?" she didn't let him answer. "Mine! I'm half on the assumption that he's gonna kill me!"

"He won't." Kankuro's voice had gotten less teasing and a little more sincere. "Loor... after what you've done for him, I wouldn't be surprised if he tries to get you to teach him what love is in every sense of the word."

She suddenly stopped. He nearly crashed into her, saving himself at the last second as she turned her head to him. "If that's the case... Gaara is asking me to teach him something I myself do not believe in."

He stared at her, and then suddenly turned as there was the sound of someone running by behind them. "What was that?"

Loor also looked, wondering the same words to herself. "Go check it out. I'll meet you at the river clearing."

"Gotcha." Kankuro nodded, taking off towards the sound. Loor sighed, turning back towards her target, trying to sense him out there.

He had to be out here... somewhere.

She sprinted the rest of the way to the river clearing, where they had been while training, where they had been when she first confronted Shukaku, where they had been when he fell asleep, and where she hoped to find him.

When she arrived, she gave a sigh of relief and a slight smile. "Gaara."

He sat there, shoes off, feet in the water. He lacked his gourd, but wore the arm weights she had given to him that night that was almost two weeks ago. At his name, he turned his head to look at her. "Loor." he addressed, and then glanced up at the orange sky that signaled a setting sun. "Afternoon."

"Thanks." She nodded, walking up to him quickly and sitting next to him. "Everyone's been looking for you since you went missing from the apartment."

"I'm surprised Lee didn't tell you, I told him where I was going."

"Lee?" Loor suddenly broke into sweat. "When did you see him?"

"When I woke up..." He sighed. "I... wanted to kill him when I saw him."

Loor felt a sudden hit of pride replace her fear. "Meaning you didn't kill him... does that mean you--"

"It was not that I was able to hold back... it was that I couldn't kill him, no more than I can protect myself right now if someone choose to kill me." He locked his gaze with hers, blue on blue, ice on water. "Loor... Shukaku is taking longer than me... as of right now, I'm free of him."

Loor felt her jaw go slack as she studied the look on Gaara's face. He didn't look so angry for once, his eyes not nearly as cold. It took several seconds, but her brain realized what was going on. Shukaku was still 'sleeping' meaning that Gaara may have been still capable of using the sand, but Shukaku wasn't there to make new sand if he suddenly needed it, and that meant that there was no automatic protection for the boy from anything.

But it also meant that for however long it took... his mind was free of the beast.

Gaara was free.


	61. On The Matters of Love

**Markings- Chapter Sixty One  
****On The Matters Of Love**

Night had fallen by the time the news had passed to everyone that Gaara had been found. The other news had passed to the sand siblings of Shukaku's condition and how it pertained to Gaara's condition. Temari and Kankuro almost couldn't believe it; for some time Gaara's mind would be free from Shukaku. It actually made them very happy, and wanted Gaara to spend that night with them, but Gaara had turned them down. He had said that now that they knew how to drain Shukaku, these nights could happen on a regular basis once they were back home, but he wanted to spend this night of freedom with Loor, who probably would never see this event again.

And seeing as she was responsible for it, the siblings agreed that it was fair.

And so with darkness about and the meeting concluded, Gaara left the group to go sit by the river again, having never left the clearing. Temari had come to them when Kankuro had gone to get her and tell everyone else that Gaara was found. Kankuro also got moving, but Temari lingered and pulled Loor aside for a few moments, out of Gaara's earshot.

"What's up?" Loor asked as Temari got very intense.

"Loor... you know how Gaara is right now, right? Or... well, how he's been since you've started helping him. He's been... saner, almost, y'know? I mean he'd probably still take a good killing if it was offered to him, but he's stopped chasing it."

"Yeah..." Loor felt a little nervous. Where was this going? "Why do you ask?"

"For the chunnin exams... the finals... right before his fight, do you think you could break him?"

Temari said this slowly, worried of Loor's reaction. The younger blond just stared at the older one, seeming to be in stupefied shock. "What...?" She finally asked. "Why?"

"That fight between him and Sasuke is very important, and we need him at his full power, Loor. I can't tell you why, but we need him to be as insane as he can get for that one fight." She paused. "I really don't like the reason for it... but orders are orders."

"Orders?" Loor glanced back at Gaara, who was waiting for her. "What orders?"

"It's just what we have to do, Loor." She sighed. "Tell me, can you break him?"

"Not without getting myself killed." Loor shook her head. "If I broke his sanity, God only knowing how I'd do it... he would kill me, I'm sure."

Temari nodded, frowning. "I understand... Loor, someone might try to kill you for what you've done. I'll be watching your back for you."

"Make sure to watch your own before you watch mine, Temari." Loor sighed, turning to go back to Gaara.

"That's not the way you take to it, Loor." Temari batted back. "I've seen you. You guard every back before your own, if you ever get to it."

Loor snickered. "That's because I got a huge ass, makes a nice shield." Loor giggled, giving a light hit to her own rear before walking back into the clearing, leaving Temari shaking her head before leaving.

Gaara was looking out over the water of the river, his ice blue eyes sparkling with the starlight and near full moon reflecting off of it. His hair was tossed by the gentle fingers of the wind, making Loor feel her usual urge to run her hand through his silky red crop. Her urges were beyond that though. She'd had many urges since she'd met him, as she had since she met Lee.

She was like Jariya, only younger and female. She was a perverted girl, that she would admit, along with being attracted to both Gaara and Lee... and having various urges around both boys that were getting harder and harder to control. As Gaara turned his head to look back at her, his eyes inviting her closer, she had to quell a twitch that went through her hand.

Slowly, she responded to his invitation, sitting by him and taking her own shoes off to put her feet in the water, feeling the cold water caressing her toes, wiggling them slightly and looking at him again.

"So... how do you feel?" She asked, leaning back on her hands.

"Different." He admitted, glancing her up and down. "How long was I gone?"

"Almost two weeks." She answered, wincing at the look on his face. "It's three days to the finals... I'm sorry."

"Don't." He gave, shaking his head. "Actually... I'm grateful."

"You kidding?" She gave a rueful laugh. "You have next to no time to prepare of the exam finals, and by that time Shukaku might not even be recovered, and Sasuke'll kill you, and it's my stupid idea that got you like this."

"I don't care." He said, as if that covered all the points she'd presented. And then, if that were not enough, he had to add on something he'd wanted to tell her since he woke up. "I had my first dream, Loor. You can take credit for that too."

She felt both eyebrows raise to her hairline. "Really? What... what happened?"

"You were there..." He trailed off, suddenly embarrassed. "I think... I'm still jealous... and that's why I saw what I did."

"What did you see?"

He frowned, looking away from her. "The way you touched _him_... I saw you doing that to me... but I woke up before you actually touched me."

By the way he said 'him' she assumed he meant Lee, which meant he was talking about when she kissed him, or better put when Lee kissed her.

"I see..." She nodded. "You probably woke up when your mind realized that you didn't actually know what it felt like."

He looked at her, and suddenly got a smile. "I want to know... show me."

She giggled at him, reaching into the river to splash him. "Direct much?"

"I want to know." He insisted, ignoring the splash. "Is there anything wrong with that?"

"Its usually something you do with someone that you're..." She cleared her throat. "_Involved _with."

He cocked his head to one side. "I'm not involved with you?"

"Well, you are but..." She sighed. He wasn't going to drop it, and it wasn't that she didn't want to kiss him, it's just that she feared her urges. What if she lost herself? What if she did something more than she meant to? What if Shukaku suddenly woke up and started to influence Gaara?

"I don't want to take advantage of you..." She gave, trying to make an excuse.

"You might as well." He insisted. "This is probably the only time you can."

She looked at his face again, and felt herself caving. "Alright, alright..." she gave a small and goofy smile. "Just once."

He nodded, laying back on the ground under her direction so she could just roll over to face down to him, trying to make this... not awkward.

He stared at her, noticing her aqua eyes, how they had lost their confidence, her blond hair almost glowing silver in the moon light, her tan skin seeming fair under the wash of early night. All of it screamed for him to say something that would put her at more ease.

"You're beautiful." He whispered as the wind stilled, letting her hair alone, having been batting it like a playful kitten. He had whispered to drop below the wind, but the wind stopped at the exact moment he spoke, leaving the words for her to hear.

He watched as a slight pink spread across her face. Her confidence came back, and she leaned down to him, to his ear, letting her words become the summer breeze, warm across his skin. "Close your eyes."

He did, almost afraid that he was dreaming again as he felt her move, but he wasn't. This reality proved itself as her lips met his, a gentle contact as one hand threaded through his hair, the other gently rubbing his shoulder.

He wasn't sure what this feeling was, this warmth that went through his person... all he knew was that it felt good, and he wanted more. She pulled away from him, but he leaned up, opening his eyes for but a second to make sure he didn't miss, lifting a hand to the back of her head to hold her, feel that her hair had gone unwashed or a day or two but ignored it, not caring. His other hand came to her side, pulling her closer, feeling his heart beating in his neck, speeding up a little as she complied, shifting to lean over him, breaking away again only to come back for a third kiss.

That one broke faster though, and he stared at her as she quickly pulled away, sitting up and looking at the water, glancing at him... almost nervously. He sat up as well, to try and piece together what was wrong without asking, taking in her body language as she pulled her knees up and hugged them, sighing.

"I... I'm sorry Gaara... I shouldn't have done that..."

"I asked for it." He reminded, as if that would make her feel better.

She snorted, shaking her head. "Well I should have said no."

"Why?"

She looked at him, frowning more at herself than anything, and looked away again. "You really don't get it... do you?" She bit her lower lip, sucking it into her mouth and then pulling it out again, raking it with her teeth. She did it several times while thinking, trying to understand herself of how to tell him of her own problem with lacking inhibitions and how her logical judgment would lack while the hormones were going through her brain.

"Gaara... " She gave, talking to the water instead of to him. "How long did you think this was going to last? Did you assume I'd follow you home or something? The reason I should be saying no is the fact that I should be the one realizing that this isn't going to last for even one more week. I shouldn't be leading you on... kissing you... any of this crap. Hell, I shouldn't have started treating you in the first place, but I couldn't resist..."

He stared as she looked like she was about to indulge in the one thing he had never seen her do.

It looked like she was about to cry.

"I'm so selfish."

It was so strange. For once, Gaara wasn't so adsorbed in his own pain, and now he still felt a steady ache in himself as he watched a few tears roll down her face. He felt the hurt that was probably going through her, and brought himself closer. He lifted one hand, to her face, to clear away one of the drops of water and have her face him.

"I asked for it." He reminded, again. "Every time. I wanted to know if you could help me, I wanted to know what this felt like. Why are you blaming yourself? Why are you making yourself feel pain over me? Why can't you let the people at fault blame themselves?"

She sniffed, giving a smile that was nowhere close to happy. "Because, Gaara, you have enough pain. Anyway, it was my choice to help you... I could have said no."

"You knew I would have killed you if you did." He returned, staring at her. "You had no choice."

"Yes I did." She laughed slightly, shaking her head, leaning away from him, over the river, to wash her face off, slightly ashamed of the tears. "I don't care about dying... that's why I didn't scream when you met me. For the rest of my days, I'll never plead for my life because it means next to nothing to me... if I ever did cry out for my life, it would be for the sake of Fury, and all the other people I care about, not myself."

"Why not?" He asked, which was just as pertinent as the 'why?' question.

She shook her head. "You never heard what happened to me... no... I never told you." She looked at him, sighing. "There's a powerful ninja out there, his name is Orochimaru... about two months ago, he stumbled upon my home while Fury was with me, and I was out in the yard, having a practice spar with her."

Gaara blinked at the name. He had to assume the Orochimaru that Sand made a deal with and this Orochimaru had to be one in the same. He nodded for her to go on.

"Well... he went into my house as Fury and I were returning. We watched from the outside as everyone in the house reacted to the intrusion... first of which being the family dog, then my parents. Orochimaru had someone with him, but I'm yet to find out who. Regardless, as each person in the house went to get rid of him... he killed them. Me and Fury... we were so scared, frozen outside, unable to help as we watched my parents being slaughtered."

He tried to imagine Loor frozen in fear, but fear seemed to be the one emotion she didn't know. He was beginning to see why.

"He came outside to us after that." Loor sighed. "I... tried to fight him, but it was no contest. I went flying, Fury fainted... and then my brother and sister came out of the house. He killed them too, made sure I could hear it... and he was about to kill me. I was so scared... I felt so weak... and then I passed out, just as the Konoha jonin arrived. When I heard that we'd be getting proper training before returning home..." She took a deep breath, shaking her head one more. "I promised myself that I'd never let anything happen to those I care about, and I can't do anything if I'm letting fear save me while they're dying. Fear gets me nowhere... Fear... is worthless."

He stared at her, wishing he was able to feel something of what she had to feel towards the death of her family, but he never cared much for his parents, one of which was dead and the other as good as. His mother, the woman that he never knew, he killed as she birthed him. His father, the one who had used jutsu in order to give him Shukaku before birth...

It was kinda hard to feel remorse for those you hated. But if someone murdered Temari or Kankuro, or both, he might be more than a little irked. About a month ago, he didn't really see them as siblings, but he was getting to feel those connections a little bit more.

For that, he could feel a little. And now to see that it was Orochimaru that had done this to her, murdered her family and made her feel this way... he had to wonder if the same man would hesitate in killing his family.

It was best to kill others before they killed you, in his book. Perhaps Orochimaru would be meeting his end by the time this mission was over, once Shukaku was back in action. Still, while the raccoon was still leaving Gaara be with his actual emotions, he put an arm over Loor's shoulders, wrapping the other one around her middle, pulling her close.

They said nothing, and she lifted one arm to gently rub his back, nodding and trying to stop the tears.

He leaned his head up to her, gently nosing her into a position where he could kiss her again, which she allowed. It was different from their first three, as she parted his lips gently, and through several moments they tasted each other. It was all gentle, patient, and eventually broke away.

He stared at her, mouth still slightly open. She gave a small smile, putting a finger under his chin to close his jaw. At the sound of his teeth clicking together, they both laughed softly, laying back on the grass to look up at the moon and stars.

"Loor..."

"Mmm?" She had her eyes closed, almost asleep to tell the truth, being very relaxed.

"Do you love me?"

"Mmmm..." Was all the noise she made, not really answering the question, and then pretending she was already asleep. He didn't ask it again, just laying back again and staring at the sky. Eventually he felt his eyes closing, and settled in to a natural sleep for the first time in his life.

Sadly, it probably would be the last for several years.

* * *

"Hello?" Fury asked, letting herself into the Inuzuka residence. Hana had gone out of her way to make a copy of the key for her so she didn't have to knock on the door like a stranger. Of course, the first of those living there to respond to her call were the dogs. Yes, dogs. Akamaru wasn't the only one. There had to be at least ten, actually, including a bitch and male of Akamaru's breed, his mother and father. Kiba told Fury that since they were 'higher animals' they were capable of human speech, but generally only did so with their owners around.

Of course those two of Akamaru's breed were a perfect example of how big the dog was going to get. Both were taller than Fury. She remembered the first time she'd met these two, right around the time that she got to help the bitch deliver a new litter of puppies. There were only three of them, one girl and two boys. It was odd because they were about half of Akamaru's size, and thus absolutely _tiny_ compared to mom. Of course, once she was past the door, there were ten noses in her face, all of the fuzzy bodies attached begging for attention. She laughed, scratching as many heads as she could.

"Kiba! Help! I'm being attacked!"

She could hear Kiba laughing down the entry hall. This was normal, and the dogs would leave off after covering her with slarm. Still, Kiba was merciful and gave a sharp whistle to call the dogs off. "C'mon guys, you see her every day."

Slowly, reluctantly, all ten noses backed away, letting Fury get her shoes off and walk down the hall to get to Kiba, who was waiting for her. Fury had to stare at the two largest ones, shaking her head. "There's gonna be three more of those things?" She muttered.

"Not in this house." Kiba gave, giving her a quick hug. "Mom's sellin' the pups... but they're expensive cause they're pure bred with papers and everything. I don't like it, but I don't got a say in it."

"You should." Fury returned the hug. "We were the only ones in the house when they were delivered!"

"Yeah, thank your lucky stars that I know a thing or two about dogs, eh?" Kiba snickered, leaning against the wall behind him. "So what had you all busy today? We were supposed to meet up for lunch."

Fury felt herself go red. She'd forgotten. "Oh, gosh, I'm sorry... Gaara went missing and they asked me to help look for him."

"Loor's comatose boyfriend? What did he do, start sleep walking?" He chuckled, as if that were some clever joke.

"He woke up, actually." Fury started walking down the hall, going through something of a family room that was mainly torn up dog pillows around where a low table usually was. Of late, it had been replaced with a pen for the pups and their mother, who was currently curled up with her litter while the fathering male had made himself at home on something that used to be a couch. Hana also sat there, petting something that was closer to a wolf than a dog.

"Hey Fury." Hana greeted, grinning. "Have a good day?"

"Depends on how you define 'good.'" Fury answered, heading for the conjoining kitchen to dig up something to eat. She had hardly nibbled at all through the day. "I get up for training, have a spar against Kabuto while teamed up with Loor. We kicked ass by the way, so that was lots of fun. After doing the victory dance, one of the sand nin shows up and tells us that Loor's lovely red headed boyfriend has gone missing. Huge search goes on for him, and we find two of _five_ doppelgangers he'd made of himself through Konoha. Where do we find the real one? Out in the woods, where we expected, but they obviously didn't find him till we'd found some of the clones, because he canceled them out once he was found." She sighed, finally coming across a fruit bowl in the corner that she had forgotten about, quickly yonking an apple and chewing on it, swallowing before speaking. "Oh yeah, and I skipped lunch."

Kiba had quickly followed, dumping his butt on another large cushion in the family room as Akamaru came through to join the party, quickly getting into his owner's lap. "You should have come and gotten me, Fury. Me and Akamaru would have sniffed him out in under an hour."

"I didn't know where you were." Fury defended, swallowing another bite of apple, eating it as quickly as she could.

"What time did he go missing?" Hana asked, looking up as her canine companion helped himself into her lap, still petting him.

"Kankuro, Gaara's big brother, came and got us around noon..."

"When I was waiting for you at the new place we were going to try." Kiba snickered. "Where I waited for about an hour before--"

"Coming home and whining like a puppy about getting ditched!" Hana completed, laughing in a big-sisterly way.

"Oh God, I'm sorry Kiba!" Fury yelped before she swallowed. She quickly regretted though, as she started choking. Kiba was the first one up, putting Akamaru aside and getting up to help her. It was not too bad, she cleared herself after a few seconds, not really needing his help. Once the problem was out of her windpipe she quickly swallowed it, looking up at him sheepishly. "Sorry..."

Hana laughed at Kiba. "Geez! If she's still coughing it's okay Kiba! You only have to worry when they're not coughing."

Akamaru got up on the counter with a deft jump, growling at Hana and barking. At once, her dog reacted by barking back, showing his teeth. There was a small stare down, and the two dogs returned to bothering their owners for attention. Kiba laughed slightly, patting Fury on the back. "You okay?"

"Fine." She nodded, taking another nibble of her apple and making sure to swallow first. "Sorry."

"It's okay." He smirked, ruffling her hair. "You had important stuff to do, I'm not gonna blame you for missing one lunch date."

"I was talking about me choking, but okay."

There was a two second pause, and everyone in the conjoined room started to laugh, relaxing into nightly routine of bathing and bed once Hana had gotten up long enough to help Fury get a proper meal in her stomach, preferably of soft foods that were harder to choke on.


	62. Cats and Dogs

**Markings- Chapter Sixty Two  
Cats and Dogs**

"You're doing what now?"

Hana was the first one to say it, but Fury was thinking it, both females staring at Kiba from spots in the family room. It was the next morning, and everyone was sitting there while nibbling breakfast. The pups were nursing, Akamaru was hanging out with the large male that fathered him, and Hana's dog was waiting patiently for Hana to be done so she'd let him lick the plate clean. Still, it would seem that even the dogs were shocked at what Kiba had just said.

"I'm gonna move out." Kiba repeated, being the only one who was still eating and speaking casually. Hana had gone out of her way to make pancakes that morning. "Everyone in the ninja program is entitled to their own free apartment, and I've decided that you and mom are gonna need my room for the new pups and stuff so we can get this pen out of the family room." He gestured toward the bitch with her pups in the middle of the room. "I can register and be out of here before the chunnin finals."

"You really think mom is gonna let you go?" Hana asked, tilting her head to the side. "I'm at work most of the time. We were lucky you and Fury were home to deliver this litter, mom can't handle it all by herself." Hana frowned slightly. "Fury, has he run this nonsense past you yet?"

Fury shrugged. This was the first she'd heard of Kiba's sudden decision.

"It's not nonsense." Kiba growled, quickly stuffing another mouthful into his face and swallowing before going on. "The bitch is fully capable of taking care of her own litter now, and the other dogs can help mom out. If she really needs help, I can come back. It's not like I'm moving out of the village, more like I'm going a half an hour's walk away, hardly a few moments if I dashed the whole way here."

"But what about me?" Fury's small and passive voice probed.

Kiba looked at her. "I want you to come with me."

Hana yelped. "Now I know you're crazy! First you wanna move out, and then you want your girlfriend under the same roof?! I don't think so!"

Kiba glared at his sister. "You don't get to make this decision for me!" He snapped back, bearing his fangs. "Being a shinobi guarantees me independence from my family eventually, and Fury and I have been sleeping in the same bed for _how_ _long??_" He got up, going into the kitchen to drop his plate into the sink, not even offering it to Akamaru, who trotted at his feet.

"Kiba...?" Fury asked slowly, staring at him. He looked like he was about to run away from home or something. He glanced at her, and then looked at Hana, who was still unimpressed.

"I'll be back." He finally gave, turning down the hall to leave the house.

Fury got up at once to go after him, but Hana gave her a look that passed the message for her to sit back down. Slowly, Fury did, sighing. "You didn't have to yell at him like that..."

"Someone has to knock some sense into his thick skull." Hana leaned back on the huge pillow she was seated on, going back to food. "Anyway, think about what your sister would---"

"Who cares?!" Fury snarled, glaring at Hana. "That's all I hear about anymore, how Loor wouldn't approve of what I do! Guess what, if it wasn't obvious by this point, she no longer has a hand in my love life!" She got up, putting her plate away and then flopping back into her seat, fuming. "If he moves out, I'm going with him, and Loor can shove anything she has to say up her ass for all I care."

Hana blinked twice. That was a lovely little rant. Fury suddenly realized what she said.

"Oh god that was rude!" She yelped. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!" She gave, shaking her head and then pulling her knees up to do a quick and respectful seated bow. At that point, Hana laughed slightly.

"If I didn't know any better I'd say the hormones have gotten the better of you." Hana smirked. "It's good that he went out though. A walk will set his head straight, and if he's still set on moving out, there's nothing anyone can do about it. I was just trying to set him off into doing that, and he'll figure it out once he gets back."

Fury nodded slowly, sighing as the large male that fathered the pups in the middle of the room ambled over to her, sticking his huge head down on her level for attention. Seriously, this thing's head was as big as her rib cage. No, bigger than by at least double when you included all the fluff. Fury reached up, burying her hands into his thick fur and thinking.

Moving out with Kiba... that _would_ be interesting. No more rude wake up calls from Hana, or worrying about Loor just bursting in if they had a lock on the front door. The thought slowly went to put a smile on her face, a smile that turned into a loud and grousing squeal as the dog she was petting suddenly decided to lick her face with a tongue that was in proportion with the rest of his body. Hana started laughing as Fury attempted to push the beast away, but that was like a fly trying to knock over a tree.

"Stop it!!" Fury giggled, finding herself upside down in her big pillow-chair, her head nearly on the floor as this large animal climbed over the cushion to continue licking her face. Hana chuckled, giving a sharp whistle, which stopped the male and made him back off, making with the big soulful eyes to Hana as Fury righted herself, cleaning her face off with a short sleeve.

"Euukk..." Fury gave, her shirtsleeve not quite enough for all the slime on her face. Hana got up to put away her plate, coming back with a dishtowel to help Fury out.

"They're not that bad. A dogs mouth is actually pretty clean if the dog takes care of itself and the owner feeds it right." Hana grinned at Fury, who had just managed the thick coat of slarm off of her face. "On the other hand, slime is slime. He's just showing that he likes you."

"I already got one dog that likes me, that's good enough." Fury gave, pushing the rag back into Hana's hands.

Hana shook her head, going to put the rag with other stuff that needed to be washed. In the back of her head, she knew that Kiba wasn't going to change his mind. He was stubborn, and even if he was more than a little ADD, he could be responsible. She'd trust him, but she was beginning to wonder how much she trusted him and Fury together. Not so much that Kiba would start pressuring her. He didn't like waiting, that was for sure, but he wouldn't pressure someone he liked into doing something they didn't want to do. No, Fury's emotions were getting all mixed up by hormones that she only recently started in on. She'd just seen a great example of how temperamental the girl was. She went from raging to docile and back again so quickly it wasn't funny.

Hana sighed, dropping the slimy rag in the laundry pile and walking back. Maybe it wasn't the fact that they could end up doing something kids their age shouldn't be doing, it was more that Hana feared Kiba was going to get hurt. He may have been tough, but he also was emotional, often driven by his emotions. With Fury so unstable... sparks could fly or Kiba could just get burned, or both.

Still, all the same, there was nothing she could do. Once Kiba had made up his mind, that was that.

* * *

Gaara was still not quite accustomed to the feeling of waking up. He wasn't quite sure what he was first aware of; the sun in his eyes or Loor's body resting against his. He was leaning towards the sun, because that was what brought him out of sleeping. The first thing he did was go to hide his eyes, not even cracking them open, pushing his head down to find that Loor's hair made a great block.

His motion caused her to stir a little, yawning and then noting the same sun, which she turned her head towards the ground to hide from. "Fuck..." She muttered, growling. She herself took notice of Gaara behind her, hugging her around her stomach. It took the edge off of her usual bad morning mood, giving a little smile and reaching back to lightly put her hand on his head, stretching out.

In stretching, she stuck her toes right into the cold river.

"Oh _geez_!!" She yelped, sitting up quickly and leaving Gaara's eyes wide open for the sun to burn, which made him turn to the grass, cursing a little himself. She had quickly drawn her toes out of the river, putting her hands over them to spread the cold water so her skin would warm it faster and it wouldn't feel so cold. She could feel the grass imprinted on the side of her face, and marks from the zipper on her coat along her side. She'd never slept on the ground before, if she was roughing it there was usually a tent and a sleeping bag between her and the outside world.

That's when she suddenly realized something. They'd spent the night. Looking back over at Gaara, she stared at him, shocked at herself for what she'd done the other night. He didn't seem to notice her gaze just yet, leaning over the river and cleaning off his face, which was also marked up by sleeping on the ground.

Her mind had to repeat it to her. They'd spent the night.

He slowly came aware of her eyes on him and turned, pushing his hair out of his face with the extra water on his hands, wondering what was wrong with her. "...Yes?" He asked after a few moments.

"I kissed you." She almost whimpered.

He cocked his head to the side, as if to say 'is this a problem?' Then, slowly, he drew up an arrogant smirk that he must have earned after being the pampered son of the Kazekage for the first six years of his life. It was the ultimate 'Yeah, so?' look, and the confidence that he suddenly showed could make a girl's knees go weak. Not Loor's, but it was close. "Yes you did."

As if to compete, Loor felt her own confident and hardheaded personality coming up. She simply stretched out on the ground again, shooting him a look before closing her eyes, splashing her fingers in the water. While doing this, she flicked some at him, which made him move a little.

"I shouldn't have." She muttered, the smile being the only thing missing from her face.

He sat beside her, looking at her, seeming confused by this statement. He didn't reply to it because he didn't know how to. If it could be called an answer, he put one hand on her back, gently rubbing between her shoulders after pushing her hair out of the way.

He was not expecting her to suddenly drop her head to the ground and scoot closer like a feline looking for attention. The smirk that was already in place grew as she went all submissive on him, pushing the back of her neck up to his hand.

He gave a small chuckle. "You'd fit right in with the cats at the palace..."

"Mmmm..." She purred to be comical, smiling widely as his hand tangled up in her hair, scratching her head. "You actually live in like... a castle or somethin'?" She asked, giggling.

"I wouldn't call it that..." He seemed to think about it. "Suna is fortified against the sand, and the palace itself has a small wall, but I would not call it a castle, though others would."

"Why not?"

"A castle... it's like a dungeon. You know you're trapped but at least you can't see outside to what you're missing. All you know are the same four walls." He paused as she looked up at him, her eyes showing some sort of understanding. "A palace... is more like a simple cage. Bent and broken, not only can you see outside, but you can escape."

She nodded slowly, sitting up and shaking his hand off, looking around. "People must be worrying about us by now..." She muttered. She wouldn't put it past Kankuro to be sitting in the trees, watching them.

He nodded slightly, not really wanting to go back. He feared that if he got up he'd leave the feelings he had felt here, with her, and never experience them again. His mind remembered for him that the finals were, as crazy as it seemed, tomorrow.

So if he left this behind, time would have to go on, and tomorrow he would have to destroy everything he felt here.

He turned to her, grabbing her gently by the shoulder, making her look back at him. Without thinking, he pulled her close for another tender kiss like that of last night. He wanted it to stop time, keep the clock from ticking closer to something he desperately didn't want to do.

What he would give for just one more day, one more week, one more month, so he could hide from the reason he was here. If she stayed here, Gaara was sure _he, _Shukaku, would kill her, along with Fury, along with everyone else he'd met. Whether he liked them or not, Gaara felt himself grieving over the fact that he would probably kill them all tomorrow.

She turned her head slightly, pressing him open, and his worries were abolished as he focused on her again. He couldn't worry and kiss her at the same time, and once they had fully focused on each other the kiss became kisses, each better than the last. She already knew how, and he was quickly getting better at it, following what she used on him.

He felt himself warming, leaning back onto the grass, putting a passive hand on her stomach, and rubbing his thumb across the exposed skin as her coat was open.

They broke away from each other, laying on the grass with their eyes closed. She seemed contented by what they did, happy, and he felt the same about it.

It gave him some form of hope. Shukaku was yet to wake, perhaps he would not be able to compete in the finals. He almost prayed that such was the case, pulling her closer. Then he'd have to withdraw, and she'd be safe...

_Everyone would be safe..._

_**Think again!**_

Loor was crushed to his chest as Gaara suddenly felt the horrid pain in his head that marked Shukaku's return. It started in his head, where the beast spoke, but Shukaku was quick to re-assert his control over his host, newly refreshed chakra taking hold through out the boy's body, burning his insides. This pain, this torture, was usually taken out on himself by clutching his head, but Loor was already in his arms, already there for him to crush like he would crush his teddy when he was a child.

His breathing became ragged as the pain lasted, getting worse, like fire all over, like being outside of Suna and among the sand storms, letting his flesh be ripped away. It caused him to let out small grunts of agony as he tried to hold himself, his eyes coming open, ice blue looking for something to focus upon, something to distract him from this.

"Gaara?" Loor's voice called him out, her body wiggling in his grasp. "Gaara! C'mon, talk to me!"

The huge amounts of Shukaku's chakra suddenly rushed to Gaara's neck, forcing him to look away from her, look up at the trees, but the boy pushed back, letting out a primal yell as he managed, inch by inch to win this battle of will power, not letting Shukaku make him do anything.

_I OWN YOU!_

He felt his chin land on his collar, looking down at her. She looked up with a slight smile, and he smiled back as he felt Shukaku settling down, the pain drawing back to a small ache he knew and lived with. That ache was easy to ignore. He still panted, short breaths coming and going, seeming shocked that he won that fight.

"I asked you to talk to me." She gave, seeing that the disaster had passed, aiming for a joke.

He leaned his head to hers, meeting at the foreheads, and grinning. "I... think..." He paused, as if he wasn't quite sure what to say. "I think.. I could love you... once you think I'm old enough to love."

She felt herself go bright red, breaking his gaze, pinning her own chin to her collar. She mumbled something, but he couldn't make it out, but he hugged her all the same.

He needed her... there was no way he would let Shukaku harm her.

* * *

"Well then... I think it's safe to say the demon is messing with him again."

Above in the trees, far enough away to be out of earshot of the couple below, were two sound nin. One was Isaki, the black haired _Konoichi_ that had spoken to Orochimaru the day before. The other was a sandy blond male with dark eyes and pale skin like his partner, looking below at the two people that were vital to their mission.

"No way to be sure, Isaki..." The man replied. "He didn't directly say it. All we can give Orochimaru at this point is 'We think Shukaku is active again.'"

"It's better than the answer we had for him yesterday, Ryoshi..." Isaki looked at him, frowning, and then back down to the clearing, sighing. Yes, the man beside her in the trees was her lover, Ryoshi.

He seemed to detect something in her voice. "Isaki? Is something wrong?"

Isaki's eyes stayed on the scene below, sad eyes on the couple as they began to get up, leaving the clearing. "Didn't you hear him? What he said...? This job just keeps getting harder and harder... I don't like the idea of toying with them!"

"They're too young. Their words mean nothing." He shook his head. Isaki was a good nin, but she had a little trouble keeping her emotions out of her business. Sadly, that was one of the things a shinobi needed to do at all times.

She jerked her head over to glare at him "Are you kidding, Ryoshi?! Maybe you forget when we met, when we started saying 'I love you'!"

He hadn't forgotten. His eyes softened a little at his memories, things that had happened all too long ago.

"We... were special Isaki. Lucky. We were able to be together long enough to find out the love we believed we had was real. Some are not so lucky to find it so young and keep it as they grow older."

She frowned, shaking her head. "So you doubt them?"

"They're children, _Koishi_." He gave, using the word for 'loved one.' "They don't understand love, not in the least. They can't."

"I don't believe that... I knew when I was young." She turned from the clearing, starting on climbing across limbs to follow the couple that had just left at a safe distance. Ryoshi followed her.

"Believe what you wish... it doesn't change the mission. We _have_ to toy with this, or Orochimaru will kill us both. You know how he is about loyalty."

"As will Gaara! It is death on either track, Ryoshi!" She glanced back at him, her jaw clenched, but having to look forward as not to fall from the limbs.

"Isaki!" Ryoshi kicked off to get even with her, grabbing her by her shoulders and making her stop and face him. She had to see sense in this. "In doing our mission we _may_ die, but we will be killed _for sure_ if we disobey! Between those odds, I take the one where we may live."

She looked like she was about to cry, glaring up at him. She had to look up at her tall husband, her small shoulders shaking in his big hands. Then, she took a step back... off of the tree limb.

"Perhaps I prefer to die!"

He looked down as she preformed substation, landing somewhere on the ground to run. He sighed, shaking his head. She'd be back, but for now he'd leave her be.


	63. Looking For Tomorrow

**Markings- Chapter Sixty Three  
Looking For Tomorrow**

Kiba had focused upon a rock while he walked, clearing his head. They had today off of training anyway, since Shino had also made it to the finals. Kurenai was giving them all a day off so that Shino had time to rest up before hand.

Kiba didn't care about that right now. He was kicking his rock down street after street, watching Akamaru chase after it and then pick it up, the dog actually tossing it back with a flick of his head, and Kiba throwing it back down the street by deflecting it with one appendage or another. It kept his body distracted while his brain tried to work. He saw no flaws in his plan to move into his own place. To him, it seemed more and more positive by the second. His mom wouldn't have to take care of him anymore, there'd be more space for the new pups till they sold, no Hana to just barge in on his room...

And a lock on the door; something to keep Loor away. He didn't have any huge problems with the blond tomboy, it was just that she had something against him and Fury being with each other... at all. She wasn't the extreme 'I'm gonna kill the dog' anymore, but she still crossed his mind every time him and Fury took another step. He wasn't afraid, but he was sure him and Loor were going to have a full-blown fight over this sooner or later.

And he wasn't going to be able to sleep if he didn't have Fury to cling to. He'd gotten so used to having her to hold in the morning. Oh, sure, Akamaru was great company, but humans were good too. He liked just about everything about her, aside from her odd and angry mood swings. She liked animals, athletically inclined, willing to try new things, and even competitive if she was already riled up.

And she wasn't a half bad kisser.

Kiba got too distracted by that thought, and Akamaru nailed him in the head with the rock. Yelping, Kiba came back to earth and glared at the little puppy, who was sitting innocently and wagging his tail.

"Geez Akamaru..." Kiba sighed, rubbing his head a little to find his forehead bleeding. "You don't have to throw so hard."

Akamaru gave a small whoffel like a person would sigh, seeming to shrug and getting up again as Kiba kept walking, keeping his hand over his forehead. Then, while trotting beside his master, he looked up and gave Kiba a look.

Kiba looked back down. "What? If you want something you just gotta come out and say it."

Kiba didn't care that he was getting funny looks from the people he passed. Understanding his dog was something that came from living with the puppy for so many years, and that Akamaru could actually say a few human words, though they were limited to imitating other animals and a few curses he'd picked up. It didn't matter, Akamaru's noises and body language translated to plain English in Kiba's brain. In Kiba's brain, which was a crazy place, Akamaru sounded like a young teen himself, just as confident as his owner.

Akamaru whined, giving a fake sneeze.

Kiba chuckled slightly. "If you don't like it you can run ahead. You know where I go."

Akamaru seemed to glare at his owner, making a quick nip at his heels.

"Dude!" Kiba hopped away, grabbing the dog and putting him into his hood. "No one is going to try to kill me if you leave for five seconds."

Akamaru wormed out of the hood, crawling on top of Kiba's head and draping himself there, settling and nuzzling into the brown and wild mop that Kiba called hair.

"Yeah... I know you care..." Kiba reached his other hand up to scratch the pup between the ears. "Maybe just a little too much, but I appreciate it."

The dog seemed a little more cheered at this, and then leaned forward to push Kiba's hand off of the cut on his forehead, licking it once the owner's hand was out of the way, stopping for a second to whine again and then bark twice, going back to licking the blood away.

"I know what I'm going to do. Hana can't scare me off of this one, I know what I wanna do. Not even mom can change my mind this time... not like she'll want to. She's the one who drop kicks me outside all the time."

Akamaru seemed to agree, not stopping in licking his owner's head as blood kept welling up.

"Akamaru, what do you think about asking Loor?"

Akamaru suddenly jerked his head up, sneezing in what seemed to be shock.

"You think it sounds like suicide too? Heh..." Kiba sighed, shaking his head. "It is... I'm probably going to get stuck to a wall for it or somethin', like she did to Neji, but I can't just have Fury move out with me without givin' her a heads up, or I'll be castrated for sure."

Akamaru whimpered, putting his head down and licking at Kiba's forehead again.

Kiba lifted his head a little, sniffing the air. He had gotten to know Loor's scent in the past two months, which made it obvious she spent a lot of time outside. It was like pine and marsh water, which collectively was good, and honestly all over Konoha for how much the girl ran all over the place.

Still, finding the most recent path was of little challenge for Kiba. It was which ever smelt strongest of the Blondie... after a few seconds, he'd zeroed in on it, even over all the other people that lived in Konoha. Honestly, he'd noticed that all the people that lived in Konoha had a particular undertone to their scent that both Fury and Loor did not. It was weird, but he didn't bring it up to Fury. She couldn't control what her smell was, it was something special to everyone.

Loor's most recent scent was traveling with one of the sand nin, Kankuro, towards the woods. Why would she be going out there? With Kankuro? Kiba would really hate to be the one to break it to Gaara that Loor was cheating on him with his big brother. Still, quickly, he kicked off of the ground to dash and follow the path.

Akamaru leapt off of his owner's head, bounding along at his owner's heels, easily keeping up.

Kiba was beginning to question what was going on with this path he was following. It was a day old, obviously, and moving quickly into the forest as Loor and Kankuro's smells split up. He followed Loor's, which got to the trees and stayed on the ground. It was a romp through the woods, following the smell that got a bit stronger has he picked up places where she had doubled back, different extras to the smell as her mood had changed various times as she was running about.

As he tried to figure out which path was the strongest, he was struck hard by two other scents in the area that were from much later yesterday, thus fresher. The other two sand siblings; Gaara and Temari, were out here. Ah, he got it now. This was from yesterday when Gaara went missing and everyone went looking for him. Loor and Kankuro were probably teamed up, and Temari came running when they found Gaara.

He would assume that Loor was still out there, and probably in one of the various clearings that were out here. He kicked off, keeping his nose active to make sure he wasn't losing the scent while going for the nearest clear area. He didn't, it got stronger, to a point where Loor, Temari, and Kankuro all pooled in one area before Kankuro's and Temari's went back into the woods, Loor's going into the clearing, following Gaara's clear trail.

Kiba stopped suddenly, finding a river running through this little area where the trees gave way to thick grass and some wild flowers. Akamaru yipped, jumping into the river to cool off from the run out, enjoying it more than most dogs, seeing as Akamaru loved water. Kiba was very serious though. He'd tracked the scent out, and expected to find Gaara and Loor out here.

Instead, the smell made it obvious that they spent the night out here, but they had moved on too, perhaps an hour ago, maybe a few moments ago. Either way, Kiba still had something to follow.

It was weird though. Out here, people should have been few and far between, but his nose detected two other people he didn't know, even if he couldn't get where the smell was coming from...

He feared he was being watched.

Or someone was watching Loor.

Kiba wondered if this had anything to do with the man that killed Loor's family, moving quickly to track the path of Gaara and Loor's scent that was leaving the clearing, going back towards Konoha. This was the most fresh, taking him on another trek through a neck of the woods he didn't know all too well.

Still, it wasn't hard. He practiced tracking all the time. At his quick pace, he was quick to catch the couple while they were still in the brush. He picked Akamaru up off of the ground while getting close, able to see them, and sneaking up on the upper tree limbs.

The strange smell of the two extra people was still around, but he forgot about it as he viewed the situation below him.

What he saw was almost insane for what he'd seen before of both Gaara and Loor. For Gaara, all he had really known was the cold demeanor of the boy who was willing to kill for no reason within an instant. He honestly didn't think the kid could express any emotion... as for Loor, most screws were loose and a few had fallen out. She was insane, violent... and Kiba honestly never thought he'd see her doing what she was doing.

Gaara had a small smile on his usually blank face, and Loor was giving quiet and comforting words... as the two were holding each other close while walking. Common for most couples, but strange for these two. Didn't this relationship start out with Gaara trying to kill Loor?!

Scary. Odder still, Gaara didn't have his gourd on him.

Kiba growled slightly, getting ahead of them before dropping out of the trees in front of said couple, just before the woods ended. Loor had tensed up, and Gaara went to full alert, but both relaxed as they noted who was in front of them.

"Kiba..." Loor greeted, yawning, slowly easing away from Gaara to save a little of her pride. "You're up early."

"You're out pretty late." Kiba gave back, glancing at Gaara. "You two spend the night?"

"Who wants to know?" Loor gave, apprehensively.

"No one, just asking for the sake of." Kiba gave, shrugging. He then glanced at Gaara. "Um... can I talk to her?"

Gaara's icy blue eyes narrowed. "You're asking me to leave?"

Kiba felt Akamaru, in his hood, starting to shake a little bit. It was obvious that Gaara had an enormous amount of chakra, and he was building some of it up while glaring at Kiba. Thankfully, Loor seemed to have no fear while feeling this, putting a hand on Gaara's shoulder. "Gaara, it's cool. You get back to Kankuro and Temari. I have to go visit the hospital today anyway. I'll see you later tonight."

Gaara glanced at her for a second, and then slowly nodded. Loor watched him start to walk away, going around Kiba and sinking out of sight. She had a feeling that he wouldn't go very far.

Kiba snorted, walking up to Loor quickly, grabbing her by the arm just under the shoulder, and holding her against the nearest tree. "I need to talk to you." He said, quiet, intense.

Loor felt a little freaked out about his behavior. "Did you kill my sister?" She gave, half joking, almost afraid to be serious.

Kiba snorted slightly, shaking his head as Akamaru sunk back into his owner's hood. "Not even close, Blondie... but you never know who's listening... watching... following you."

This was getting weirder by the second. She pulled against him a little, glaring. "What the hell is wrong with you, Scruffy? Forget your shots or somethin'?"

With a hard pull, Kiba stilled her, right by her ear to speak in something just below a whisper. "Someone is here... and by the smell of things someone was in that clearing where you and Gaara stayed. Someone's following you... two people, actually, and though I have no idea where they are or who they are, I assume they don't like you." He paused. "And if they don't like you, they don't like Fury, which is why I insist on talking like this. I'm not stupid."

She went tense. Someone? Watching? She would have blushed at the fact that they probably saw what went on last night and this morning if her mind didn't go straight to assuming it must have been Orochimaru or someone working for him. "Alright..." She hissed back, relaxing. "What's going on?"

"I had a question for you, but if these people are tracking you and Fury... it's best said out of their ear shot." If possible, he spoke even softer, right into her ear. "I'm moving out of my house."

She was scanning the trees when he said this, nodding slightly. "_Und?_" She asked, going to her German vocab.

"I want Fury to move out with me... and if someone is watching you guys it might be the best idea for her to change locations... and maybe you should do the same."

Kiba stared at her as her jaw muscles clenched. Obviously, she wasn't happy with the thought of Fury moving into a new place with _just_ Scruffy around... but at the same time, he made a good point. If there was someone... Fury moving somewhere else would be one of the best things to do.

Loor's eyes scoured the trees again, feeling paranoid. How long had they been being watched?

"Fine..." She muttered. "But don't tell Fury about people tracking us... she'll have a panic attack."

Kiba nodded slightly, and then let go of Loor's shoulder. "Thanks."

* * *

Gaara sighed as he and Loor parted ways. He had to head back to Temari and Kankuro and tell them what was going on, and pick up his gourd again. He didn't like the fact that Shukaku was back, but at the same time he felt... somewhat relived. He had no idea why, but perhaps it was simply that life had become too painless to the point that it was almost unreal. Something had to go wrong, and it did, and it made him feel better in the strangest way.

How screwed up was that?

He tried not to think about that, but it was hard to do. Shukaku's return pulled away all the things Gaara had experienced the night before, and that morning. It was almost as if these memories more intrigued the beast than annoyed him... it was almost like he was trying to steal them.

_What is your problem? He asked, keeping his eyes on where his feet where going, sparing enough of his mind to prod his beast. _

_**Who said I had a problem?**_ Shukaku sounded like his old self, if not a little more... grotesque in the voice than usual. His tone was sickly sweet._** If I must be here I'd rather enjoy some 'home movies' than put effort into torturing you.**_

Gaara seemed a little confused at this statement. _Enjoy...? What happened to the death threats you used to scream when she touched me?_

_**Even I am allowed to change my mind, **__**Ga-Ga-Kun.**_ He used the nickname that Loor had become rather fond of. It made Gaara angry... he didn't like Shukaku calling him that, with that teasing tone._**She started... displaying certain qualities. Once I saw her again, through your feeble body, I decided that I'll let her live. I might even let you enjoy her company.** _

_Through me...?_ Gaara was getting royally confused now, having to stop in the street and lean against a wall to sink into his own mind. He couldn't do this distracted. He noticed, yet again, that once he was in the black void of his mind that he felt stronger than he had before, almost as old as his current self.

He felt confident against his beast.

_Tell me what you're talking about._

_**It was just before we went to sleep.**_ Shukaku crawled out of the shadows, the darkness seeming to slip off of him like water does skin, his ugly maw the first to emerge, followed by the rest of his repulsive and bulky body. He didn't bother changing himself to Gaara's size, simply lowering his head to the boy's level, grinning. _**You were gone already, but I had just enough left... that I decided to take over for just a little while and have a talk with the girl.**_

Gaara felt himself twitch a little, almost in anger, at the thought. Shukaku's takeovers were violent. _What did you do? _

Shukaku laid his head on its side, holding a huge grin. _**Nothing that you would be unhappy with. I didn't hurt her... just told her what I thought of her. Odd, she seemed disgusted that I'd come to be fond of her. **_

Gaara stared at Shukaku with every type of shock in the world on his face. _I'll ask again... What the hell did you do to her?_

**_Just a little nibble, Gaara._** Shukaku seemed very entertained as his host's distaste. **_It was with your teeth, so I didn't hurt her. A lick to her cheek, a bite to her ear, nothing horrible._**

Gaara's feelings went beyond anger, into the worlds of rage and jealousy. He wanted to kill something, particularly the huge sand raccoon in front of him. _You son of a... Why in the world would you do that?! _

The shadows took up on Shukaku's body, sweeping around his large form and changing it to the small one, the one that was dense enough to tussle with his host. The big form was imposing, sure enough, but wasn't solid enough to do anything. Unless he wanted to use chakra to reinforce it, he would go to the small form and 'play' with his host that way. He came out of those shadows again, leaping at Gaara, pinning the boy down with the power of surprise.

_**Because I wanted to, you petty boy.**_ Shukaku grinned, right up in Gaara's face, back paws on his legs, front paws on his shoulders, thick tail whipping about over them._** It's why I take you over, it's why I kill people, and it's why I'm looking ever so forward to tomorrow... all because they're the things I want. It's a sad fact that it's the female's fault that you suddenly got curious, and then you started resisting me... but I find it all more entertaining this way. It's all a game, you see. I play this game with you... that game with her... but don't think I'll leave you out of that fun. I need your body for it... once it's a little older.**_

Gaara couldn't contain a sound of disgust with Shukaku breathing right in his face. The smell of death and decay, smells that would have delighted Gaara perhaps two months ago, now made him want to retch, turning his head to the side. _I will not let you touch her... not again. Never again._

**_Why not, __Ga-Ga-Kun?_**Shukaku even imitated her voice.** _If she's yours, she's mine; we share everything. Body, mind, memories... emotions even at some points. What belongs to you belongs, in part, to me._**

_She's not yours... she hates you... she's disgusted by you..._ Gaara's hands took hold of Shukaku's paws, growling, looking at him again. _She doesn't belong to me, she doesn't belong to anyone! No one takes domain of her!_

Shukaku was surprised to find the boy had strength enough to throw him off. He rolled away as Gaara lifted himself to his feet, panting a little, glaring at his beast, his demon, and yelling while running after him.

_**That's what I'm talking about!**_ Shukaku baited, getting back onto his hinds and launching at Gaara.

The two butted heads, literally, and Shukaku found that he was the one who was pushed back, the one who took the shock, as Gaara kept coming, imitating what he'd seen Loor doing before, imitating the way she punched, going at Shukaku's chest, imitating her kicks at the raccoon's stomach, bellowing and sweating as the demon was driven back a fair distance in this featureless limbo.

_**You'll have to try harder, Shukaku! Don't tell me that's all you got?!**_ Gaara's metal voice was rife with rage, panting, glaring, his deeper voice washing over the area as Shukaku lifting himself off of the ground that did not truly exist. _**You... claim that killing made me strong! Perhaps it has, but maybe all this time of sitting on your tail has made you weak!**_

Shukaku lifted himself up again, using a paw to wipe away simulated blood from his jaw, where Gaara had hit him once. It was at this point that Shukaku noticed something...

Gaara's teddy bear... Better put, the lack there of.

Where had it gone? Where was the odd fuzzy thing that Gaara used to cry into, clutch to his chest, the thing that Shukaku would rip away?

Where was his sanity?

Had he...?

Shukaku dropped to all fours, drawing more of his chakra up. Apparently he'd have to use a bit more force to get his puppet back in line. If he had matured enough that his sanity could no longer be ripped away by words and folly, than it was the point that Shukaku was going to have to bypass words and go to his claws.

The bear was no longer necessary, Gaara contained his sanity within himself.

_**I miss the old days...**_ Shukaku chuckled, feeling his power flowing to him, the cut on his ugly face healing._** The days where we didn't have to fight so much... you'd just point and who you wanted gone, and I'd make them go away... back when that was all you cared about, making the bad people die... such simple days, weren't they Gaara?**_

_Shut up!_ Gaara glared. _Who cares about those days?! I was ignorant! You manipulated me!_

_**I beg to differ... **_Faster than before, stronger than ever, Shukaku came back, charging, bounding forward and taking his host down, claws first, but Gaara was able to beat those paws away, backing off, keeping his feet, panting and sweating from the effort but holding up. _**All you wanted to do was make the pain go away, and all I wanted to do was help you!**_

_You wanted power over me!_ Gaara grabbed Shukaku by his head, twisting the monster to one side and throwing him. _You had it for so long! But she's made me see everything that I didn't understand before!_

Shukaku landed hard, but flipped back onto his back feet, panting a little himself. _**Little brat... you've grown quite a bit... but I've said it before... little monsters grow into big monsters, that's all you are... that's the way you are, still. The fact that you want to kill me is just more proof, death will be the only way you know, no woman will change that. Murder, blood, you'll always have a love for it, no matter how hard you pull. **_He slowly grinned. _**But it would seem that she loves a monster, so it's no matter to you, is it?**_

Gaara stared at him. Murder certainly was what was on his brain... was Shukaku right? In his mind, Gaara had never called it murder before. He never thought of those kills as murder, just... he shook his head, he didn't feel wrong about killing people in the past, and he still didn't. It was his way of life, so perhaps Shukaku had some truth to him. There was no way Gaara was going to refuse that part of himself, not for anyone.

He would always be a killer, cold blooded in his duties. No one, not even Loor, would change that.

_I am a killer..._ Gaara looked at Shukaku again, feeling his rage, accepting it, and feeling it as power._ But I am not a monster!_

The two clashed again, Shukaku having to direct more and more effort into trying to beat his own host. But it would seem that the more powerful Shukaku made himself out to be, the more of his own chakra that he used, the angrier and the more powerful Gaara became to counteract him.

This fight was going to exhaust both of them if one of them didn't give up... or managed to finish off the other one. Shukaku was considering his options, really. If he managed to push Gaara down, which was getting more and more unlikely, the boy would just pass out for a few hours and let Shukaku have a little domain over him, enough power to walk his body around the city, talk to people, but little more. If Gaara beat him... He didn't know what would happen. He'd never been beaten.

Shukaku leapt out of the way of Gaara's next charge, snorting and spitting.

He didn't want to find out what happened if he lost.

_**Go back!**_

Gaara stared, also panting. It seemed he might not have even understood Shukaku's words.

_**Go back! I've had enough of you. Save it for tomorrow...**_

Gaara felt the urge to go on, but backed off a little. _Yes... tomorrow... _

He came back to his physical self, gasping, looking around in every direction, wondering how much time he had wasted with that. Temari and Kankuro... they would be looking for him by now. He tried to shake off how things hurt after fighting Shukaku for so long and started moving again.

Tomorrow... if only he knew what it would bring.


	64. Playing Games

**Markings- Chapter Sixty Four  
****Playing Games**

When Kiba had returned home, Hana was the one who greeted him at the door. The first thing his elder sister noticed was that he was particularly smug looking.

He was twirling a key ring on one clawed finger.

Hana didn't argue with him, just moving out of the way as he went to his own room. Akamaru leapt out of Kiba's hood though, going to the family room to spend time with his little brothers and little sister.

Kiba gently opened the door to his room, where he found Fury lazing on their bed-area, relaxed in the sun coming in through the window in the room and looking half asleep. Kiba shut his door, walking up to her and looking down.

Slowly, her eyes came open. It was a sudden yelp as she noticed who was looking down at her though, jumping up and hugging him.

He chuckled lightly, hugging back. "Hey."

She was still smiling as he gently eased her off, showing off the key that was hanging off one of his fingers. "Three guesses where this goes."

Fury suddenly looked more shocked than happy. "But... you've only been gone for..."

"Probably two hours, and half of that time was spent walking around Konoha. It's easy for a shinobi to register for an apartment and get their key, since there's no money to argue about. Thing is..." He reached into one of his pockets, fishing out a second key on it's own ring. "This one is yours."

Fury stared at him for a second, and then glomped him, nearly knocking him over. He steadied, laughing, and lifting a hand up to her face to brush her hair back, lightly kissing her as they both stood there.

"So..." Fury sighed, coming off her high. "How are we gonna hide this from Loor?"

Kiba smirked. "We don't have to."

Fury cocked her head to one side. Didn't have to? Hana was right, Loor would blow her top at the thought of her and Kiba pretty much running off together without telling her. "Eh?"

Kiba snickered lightly, letting go of her and going around the room to start getting things ready to pack up. He wanted to be out of the house by tonight. "When I was out walking... I got to thinking and... well, I just couldn't do this with a clear head until I asked Loor for permission to bring you along."

Kiba? Have a need to ask permission? Anyone else think that sounded _really_ out of character for dog boy?

On the other hand, Fury was a little too frantic to care. "You asked her?! What happened to not telling her this stuff because it's none of her business?!"

Kiba shrugged. "She said yes."

This stopped Fury, who simply slumped to sitting on her rear in something of shock. Loor... said yes? Said it was okay for her to share a flat with Kiba?

She had to seriously question if she was dreaming or drugged as Kiba took very little time scraping all of the stuff from his room together and sorting through what he did and didn't want.

"Are you sure you were talking to Loor?" Fury asked, trying to be calm. "She's not sick again, is she?"

"No." Kiba shrugged. "I just had a little leverage in the conversation."

She growled a little, as he seemed to be busing himself so he wasn't to blame for sounding distracted. Quickly, she grabbed him at the wrists and turned him around. "What kind of leverage?"

Now then, she would admit to herself that Kiba was a great many things. Between cute, loyal, crafty when he needed to be, just a little wilder than nature intended humans to be, there was one thing he was not. He was not one to deceive, so she knew she could be sure that he would tell the truth to her face.

He put his arms around her, making her let go of his wrists, suddenly serious. It almost frightened her. Perhaps his grasp on her shoulders would have scared her if it hadn't been him. "You and Loor are in danger." He gave, voice low. "When I was out looking for her, I could smell that someone had been following her. More likely than not, someone's following you too." She felt his grip grow protective. "We agreed that you moving to a new location would be the best option."

Fury took this in while holding her breath, becoming paranoid.

She helped him pack up his things, and her own, tucking her key away into a pocket. They would be out of this house and into Kiba's apartment before the day was out.

* * *

"Lee?"

Lee's gaze turned quickly to the door as Loor let herself in. He was currently on his crutches, hobbling about his hospital room in restlessness. As Loor came in, she offered a smile to him, one that he mirrored the best he could. "Loor." He greeted.

"I'm sorry I didn't come yesterday... it was kinda busy." She giggled nervously, sitting at the foot of his bed, not going for the usual hug she gave him when she visited.

Instantly he was concerned, dismounting his crutches and sitting by her. "Did something bad happen?"

_Bad. _She toyed with the word in her mind_. Bad_. It had so many different definitions, different meanings, and ways to say it, places to put it in every day life_. Bad. _She tried to think if anything truly bad had happened in the last twenty-four hours.

Not bad for her... bad for Lee, she would admit, but not bad for her.

"Gaara woke up."

"I know." Lee answered. "I was there when he did."

New info! Loor stared at Lee in sudden shock, feeling her mind numb a little bit. "What?"

"I was not surprised when you did not come to see me yesterday. I was... expecting it. We spoke to each other, he and I. I believe that it is now understood he will kill me the next chance he gets. It was the first thing he tried to do when he woke up."

She shook her head slightly. "He's capable again... you ought to steer clear of him, I guess."

"So you spent the night with him?" Lee asked.

"... yes."

"Why do you seem sad?"

She hefted a long sigh. "I would assume you'd be unhappy at hearing that... but for you I'd say that it's worse than that."

"Loor." Lee was frowning a little bit, putting his hand on Loor's back. "It does not matter. The fact that I am interested does not defeat the fact that you are interested in Gaara. If he makes you happy, I will be happy for you..." He paused. "And if he breaks your heart, I will break every bone in his body."

"Break my heart...?" She stared at the point where the wall met the floor, her mind toying with the thought that the wall didn't really end there, it just kept going down into the ground and the floor was what stopped. She wanted to think that she was trapped here, maybe. She had to tell Lee what happened last night, but she had no idea of how to say it...

Then she chuckled. It wasn't happy, more rueful, almost hateful. "Break my heart?" She questioned again, a little louder. "He can't break what's not there, Lee... though last night I almost felt as if I had one in that sense."

His curiosity was roused. "What is not there...?" He paused, looking down. "You still do not believe that people our age can feel love?"

"Partially, Lee, partially." She leaned forward, putting her elbows on her knees to prop her head up on her hands. "I know for a fact that we cannot understand it. Even if we do feel it, we'd never know it. That's a fact... we're still developing, not chemically ready to handle love." She paused. "And... honestly, I think the night my family died, my heart was ran through a blender on liquefy... I act all warm to people to make them happy, but deep down I have to keep the core temperature cold so what's left of it stays where it is, frozen."

He raised one bushy brow at her odd way of describing her emotional well being, or lack there of. "What happened?"

"Hm?"

"You are explaining everything you believe to me for a second time, meaning something happened last night... something that made you think different for a little while, so you are explaining it to me to make yourself believe it again. Gaara..." He winced. He had to admit Gaara managed something he couldn't do. "Gaara made you feel loved... or in love."

Loor felt herself turn a little pink. Her mind remembered Gaara telling her that she was beautiful. No one had ever said that before. No one. She was badass, tough, angry, but never cute or beautiful. She trained herself to hate it, would kill someone for using the all too horrid 'C' word ((cute)), and now she was blushing over when Gaara said it.

This was her chance to tell Lee what happened.

"I kissed him." She blurted, looking away quickly, feeling her face go even redder. There was nowhere to hide in this white room, a deep shade of crimson on her cheeks.

She felt the bed move as Lee leaned to her, to make her face him. She didn't fight him, staring as he held her chin, brown eyes searching her blue ones. "This is over then? The game is up?"

"There was no game to begin with." She felt like glaring, but couldn't muster up the energy. "You both knew I wasn't going to be here for that long. In a week or two, or maybe even just a few days, I'm gonna be gone and never coming back... and you're never going to be able to follow me." She paused. "And perhaps it's for the best... because I don't want to make any choices like this."

He stared at her, and then bent his head slightly, resting his forehead to hers. His hand still cupped her cheek, stroking her by rubbing his thumb back and forth on her high cheekbone. "Why?" He asked. "The choice would be obvious for you, would it not? Love is not a three way street... there is only one way to go."

"The reason love is wrong at this age... is because no one knows who they really are." She was quiet, whispering. "I'm split in two, and while one half of me loves Gaara and his mystery and his chaos, the other half loves you being consistent and determined... and I can't remember which one is the real me, and which one is the second life I made to cover the real me up."

He blinked once, trying to think of how to help her.

"What did it feel like, when you kissed him?"

She thought about it. What had it been like? What word could describe that feeling?

"Free." She gave. "Like all the masks and lies were gone. He was kissing the girl he wanted to be kissing, which was just me, and nothing else."

"And when you kissed me?" He questioned.

"It wasn't the same type of kiss, Lee." She defended, not wanting to say.

"A kiss is a kiss."

"There's a difference between kissing and making out."

He backed off a little, sitting up straight, and then looking at her expectantly.

She raised an eyebrow, and then gave a sheepish giggle. "Uh, Lee, you realize that--"

"Gaara has some way that he could be watching us? Yes, I know." Lee then got a superior smile. "But you also said that there was no game to play here, so there are no rules. You may do what you wish... think of it like this," He went to appeal to her logical brain. "It is like an experiment to test a theory."

She opened her mouth to argue with him, but she came up with nothing. She'd either have to kiss him or bail through the window, which wasn't open, which meant she'd have to break it, which would meant the nurses would have a new reason to keep her out of the hospital.

She glanced at the window to make sure Gaara wasn't sitting outside on the ledge, and gave in.

She couldn't hold it for more than a few seconds, quickly pulling away, shaking her head. The look on her face was distraught.

Lee could see it, and lowered his head. "If you had to make that choice... you would know the answer."

Slowly, Loor gave him an apologetic hug, and got up to leave.

"Loor..."

She stopped in the doorway, looking back. Lee... he was heart broken, on the verge of going to his over emotional side and crying. This was the very moments that it was vital for a friend like her to be there for him, but she was the problem, so she could do nothing but make it worse. "Hm?"

"Even if you will not choose me... I still love you."

She nodded, coming back into the room, leaning down and gently touching her lips to his forehead. "Thank you Lee... I know you... you're never going to change about that. I'm younger than you though... and I might."

He nodded. Her words were meant to give him hope.

They did.

* * *

"Loor!"

She had been on her way out of the hospital, in the street, when Loor had to start walking backwards to sight who was calling her out. "Eh...? Naruto!"

True enough, her blond friend was running up looking all sorts of excited. "Hey, what are you up to?" He asked boisterously, as usual.

"Not much." She shrugged, settling into her warmer personality. "Shouldn't you be in bed? You have a big day tomorrow."

Naruto chuckled slightly, nodding. "Yeah... Me and Neji are the first match too, believe it!"

Loor rolled her eyes. He had to say it once, didn't he?

"So... the reason you're not in bed?" She questioned, righting herself to walk the correct direction. It may have been nightfall, but she could have still run into someone.

"I'm too hyper!" He was practically jumping up and down. "Usually when I'm in this type of mood I'm playing pranks, but all my favorite people to prank are already in bed, getting ready for tomorrow."

Loor snickered. Naruto's favorites were Ebisu, Iruka, and even the Hokage.

"Well, why don't you go set a trap for them or something that will hit them first thing in the morning?" She suggested, raising an eyebrow.

"I donno..." Naruto muttered, putting his hands behind his head and looking up as starts appeared in the sky. "I have so much energy, I wanna do somethin' big!"

"Somethin' big, eh?" Loor started to think about it. Something big... big... She suddenly grinned. "I got something... though we'd be in _huge trouble_ if we got caught." She smirked at him. 'Big trouble' was like a trump card to Naruto.

As usual, it worked. "Where do we start?"

"First off... we need more people." She giggled evilly. "Get all the rookies, I'll try and get TenTen without alerting Neji. He'd put an end to this so quick just to get me into deep crap... and I'll handle the sand siblings."

"What else are we going to need?" Naruto asked.

"Toilet paper." Loor answered. "Enough to cover a stadium."


	65. The Beginning of The End

**Markings- Chapter Sixty Five  
****The Beginning of the End**

Loor's grin had slowly vanished as she made her way to the sand siblings' apartment. She'd put it back on once she got there, but it had just about killed her to wear it, even around Naruto, who was usually pretty good at making her drop the fake smile and wear a real one. Sure, the prank coming up was going to be fun, but she honestly wasn't in the mood for it, which is why she wanted a group to help out. Her plan was to arrive with her group of helpers in tow and then slip away while no one was looking to be by herself.

She didn't know why she needed to be by herself. She wasn't confused about anything, which was usually her reason. It was just that she figured a bunch of things out, and she wanted to get all the facts straight in her head. She needed some 'Me, myself, and I' time to do that.

She had arrived at the hotel, and tried to stop thinking as she went up two flights of stairs to get to their room. Once she made it, she had to wonder if they'd even come along. Kankuro would for sure, she knew, but Temari was the eldest, and Loor didn't know how she was about rule breaking. As for Gaara...

Loor sighed. He'd probably just follow to be with her.

Still, she put her smile back on, knocking twice and then leaning against the doorframe.

Kankuro answered the door, already clean of his face make-up, looking just out of the shower and dressed a set of black night pants. "Hm..? Oh, Loor." He cocked his head to one side. "What are you doing here?"

She shrugged slightly, getting her evil grin back. "Just doing a little pranking and wondering if you and your sibs wanted in on it."

"What kind?" Kankuro seemed very interested. Loor's pranks were usually fun and didn't fail very often.

"You have to agree to come along before I can tell you." She baited, knowing mystery was a great way to get people in on things. "Ask Temari and Gaara too."

Kankuro nodded, but didn't move away from the door just yet. "I will... but hey, Loor, tomorrow... are you still going to see the finals?"

She lifted one eyebrow. "Yeah, of course, why?"

He shook his head, frowning a little. "Just asking." He said, but his face betrayed him. This was another warning. How many people had to tell her it was going to be dangerous at the finals? She sighed, waiting in the doorway as Kankuro sunk back into the hotel room.

A few seconds later, Gaara came out of the room to see her.

His gourd was back in place, but he still wore the wrist weights she had given him. That made her smile a little bit. When she saw him she collected him in her arms. Neither had to say a word as he returned the hug, the silence saying more.

After a few moments, she eventually did say something.

"I told Lee."

Gaara pulled away quickly, to stare at her.

"He understands."

Slowly, Gaara nodded, then taking up a victorious smile. In his mind, Loor knew, he felt as if he had won some sort of contest.

Just as long as he didn't begin to treat her as property. She was not a trophy of any sort.

Kankuro then re-appeared in the doorway, Temari in tow. She looked like she had been setting up for bed, shrugging a short lavender robe over a set of dark blue pants that went to her knees and a blue tang top, her hair left down and brushing her shoulders. "We're in." Temari gave, grinning.

Loor smirked, nodding.

"What are we doing?" Gaara asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

"Playing a game." Loor snickered. "A little something I like to call covering the Chunnin stadium in toilet paper."

Temari covered her mouth to keep from laughing out loud, Kankuro smirked, chuckling lightly, and Gaara raised a non-brow. Loor offered him a smile. This was supposed to be fun.

"How are you going to get enough to cover the entire stadium?" Gaara asked, explaining his skeptical look.

"Buddy boy," Loor grinned, looking down the hall in both directions. "This is a hotel. There's probably an unguarded supply cart or two around here. Aside from that, Naruto's running about to get more."

"Naruto's in on this too, eh?" Kankuro asked.

"If we're lucky the whole rookie nine will show up, along with a few extras. I'm gonna go looking for TenTen pretty soon."

"No Neji?" Temari joked.

Loor snorted. "Not unless he wants to get famed for the whole mess." She shook her head, getting back on track. "Anyways, I want you guys to get as much toilet paper from around here as you can, and get it near the Chunnin stadium, but out of sight. I'm gonna go look for TenTen, and then for more supplies. This event starts at midnight, sharp."

It was already ten. Two hours of toilet paper recon.

Loor gave them a goofy salute and went on her merry way.

No one argued when Gaara followed her.

* * *

Naruto was feeling optimistic so far about this operation. He'd already talked Shino, Ino, Shikamaru, Choji, and Sakura into coming. Odd that, with the girls, one would only agree when they heard the other was going to be there. Shino was indifferent about things, as always, Shikamaru had nothing better to do, and Choji was following Ino. The next person on Naruto's list of people to get was Kiba, so he was currently racing towards the Inuzuka house.

At the door, Naruto was greeted by a tall Jonin woman; Kiba's mom. She looked fairly stressed out, a tiny puppy cradled in one arm. It looked like Akamaru, only smaller. "Yes?" She asked, her voice sharp.

Naruto put his hand on the inside of the doorframe, inches from being rude and letting himself over the threshold. "I'm lookin' for Kiba and Fury! Are they here?"

Kiba's mom growled slightly, taking a firm hold of the door. "No! Kiba got his own damned apartment and took Fury with him! Two-Thirty-Two on the shinobi complexes."

With that, she slammed the door with Naruto's hand still in the frame. Naruto bellowed in pain, opening the door with his other hand and yanking his hand out before shutting the door himself, holding his hand and checking if bones were broken. It didn't feel like it, but he still whimpered and moved away from the house quickly.

"Jonin women are scary... believe it..."

"What was that, Naruto?"

Naruto suddenly rounded to find an odd sight behind him... Kurenai, Kiba's sensei, walking down the street hand in hand with... Asuma! Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji's sensei! Apparently the two jonin sensed Naruto's jaw dropping open, because they quickly pulled their hands away from each other and blushed lightly. Still, it was Kurenai who had spoken up, seeing as she was a Jonin woman, and she didn't think she was that scary.

"Kurenai! Asuma! What are you doing out late before the finals?" Naruto asked, walking up. He took note of their changed outfits. Asuma was out of uniform, wearing a black shirt and slacks, not even smoking for once. Kurenai, also out of her usual outfitting, wore a sleek black dress with no sleeves. Neither had their headbands on.

"Um..." Kurenai glanced back at Asuma, who chuckled lightly, scratching the back of his head.

"Kurenai and I were just going over some training exercises. She _is_ new to this, so I thought I'd give her a few tips." Asuma gave, stepping close to Kurenai. Naruto saw his hand appear on her shoulder, but it then slipped out of sight. Where it went, Naruto didn't have enough brainpower to think on. "What are you doing? You should be in bed. You've got a big day tomorrow."

Naruto put on his trademark grin, which said he was about to do something really stupid. "Me and some friends are getting together for one last bash before the finals! Believe it!"

"Bash?" Kurenai cocked her head to one side. "Naruto, you never hold parties. Your apartment is too small."

"Who said it was gonna be at my apartment? I know lots of people."

"All of which live in the apartment complex, and they're all the same size." Asuma was getting suspicious. "Naruto, what's going on?"

Naruto was starting to get the feeling that he'd said too much and was caught. He started to squirm, taking a step back. "Um.. well, just having some fun! Parties don't have to be inside neither! We're probably gonna go out into the woods once we've got everyone together."

"I smell a prank." Kurenai advanced upon Naruto, suddenly looking rather slinky, smirking. "What are you up to, Naruto?"

"Well... ah... um..." Naruto was backing up slowly, reddening up.

"Naruto..." Asuma came up. "Right now me and Kurenai are off duty. We can't do anything about it even if it was illegal... and I was kinda in the mood for something fun. Maybe we'll join you."

"You gotta promise to join before I tell you what we're doing! Believe it!"

Kurenai and Asuma looked at each other, eyes meeting, and then nodding. "We promise."

Naruto motioned them in close, grinning and cupping his hands around his mouth to whisper. "We're gonna tee-pee the Chunnin stadium!"

Kurenai and Asuma seemed to find this rather scandalous at first, but a promise was a promise, so they agreed to do the same thing Loor had told the sand siblings to do; scout out toilet paper and hide it near the stadium.

Once again on his way, Naruto moved on to go find Kiba's new apartment. 232 told him everything he needed to know of where it was located on the Shinobi complexes. Second floor, south wall, second from the right edge. Once to the complex, Naruto bypassed the stairs and just used chakra focus to walk up the wall to the second floor's walkway that went around the building, seeking out Kiba's door and knocking with the hand that hadn't been slammed in a door recently.

"One second!" Someone shouted inside, obviously Kiba by his voice. "Fury, would you stop being a neat freak?? I like my crap on the floor!"

"You can't walk around with everything everywhere!" Fury gave back, sounding like she was being playful but still a little serious. "I just wanna clean up a little bit!"

"Then I'm just gonna mess it up again!"

Naruto stared at the door as he heard Fury yelp and a loud thud on the floor. Akamaru had started barking, and Fury was laughing and going between, 'Kiba stop it, that tickles!!!' and 'Don't crush Akamaru!'

Naruto knocked again to remind the couple that he was still outside. Eventually the scuffle stopped, and Kiba unlocked and opened the door, Fury behind him. "Whaddya want, Naruto?" Kiba gave. Both him and the lass were dressed for bed. Kiba was in his pants alone, and Fury was wearing her pants and his coat over her bra.

"Loor told me to come and get you guys for somethin' we're doing tonight, believe it!"

Is that catch phrase annoying anyone other than me?

"What kind of something?" Fury asked, tugging the coat closed over her bra, embarrassed of Naruto seeing her like that.

"You have to agree to come before I tell you, Loor said!"

Kiba glanced at Fury. "Should we trust that? Loor seems to be the type to use security when she's doin' somethin' shady."

Fury shrugged. "She's probably just up to setting one of her traps... it has to be big if she's calling in help though." Fury looked at Naruto, and then smirked. "I'm in."

"Me too." Kiba grinned. "Now let us have it, what is Loor planning now?"

"She's gonna have us all cover the Chunnin stadium in toilet paper."

Kiba seemed as happy about this as Fury was horrified. His mind said mid night fun. Her mind reminded her that they could all get caught.

* * *

In the end, they had ended up with 17 people for the prank. It was a good number, even if there were two adults among it. Ino, Shikamaru, Choji, Kiba, Shino, Sakura, Naruto, TenTen, Loor, Fury, Temari, Kankuro, Gaara, Asuma, and Kurenai were all part of their number to begin with, but Loor ran into Kabuto on her way towards the stadium with a load of toilet paper in her arms and couldn't get a good excuse as to why, so he was added in just so he wouldn't snitch on them. Naruto had then ran off again before they were about to begin, coming back with the ever so shy Hinata in tow when he returned.

Loor was quick to go to Hinata as ask how she was doing. Loor had seen Hinata go into the hospital after the first part of the Chunnins, a month ago, and hadn't the time to visit her since. She knew that Neji had nearly killed her, using the Byakugan on her to the point of her coughing up blood. Loor knew that pain now, and was still sore from a fight that happened a week ago.

Hinata, still her shy self, hid behind Naruto and muttered that she was fine, just getting used to being on her feet again.

Still, now there were some simple matters to handle. The group had rallied outside the Chunnin stadium, in a narrow lane that led up to it, the moon above, a day away from being full, right above and signaling midnight- the beginning of the operation.

"Okay..." Loor gave, her and Naruto taking the parts of ringleaders. "We've already had a look around and found out that there's two Jonin covering the front door to the stadium, but Naruto found that the door's weren't locked, so it's just a matter of detaining those guys and getting in."

"Detaining?" Kurenai smirked, still in her dress from before. "I think that task would be suited to two other Jonin."

Asuma nodded, and Loor gave them the go-ahead. They both seemed to vanish, dashing away. Loor had to wonder what the sensei couple had in mind. From there, the plan started to play out. Kurenai and Asuma returned as everyone was getting their stores of toilet paper and bringing them to one spot, closer to the stadium as it was safe to get close. Naruto went in to scout for more guards, but there were none.

After all the paper was moved to a huge pile right outside the stadium, the group set to work. Everyone grabbed a couple rolls and went in, throwing them, rolling them, and basically turning the huge stadium into a mummy.

Loor stood in the middle, not joining, viewing this plan going into action. The Chunnin stadium was really incredible. First off, it was a huge, high walled structure. Built into three of these walls were seats, and the fourth wall was actually connected to the main fortification of Konoha, and thus blank. Across from the blank wall, the seats were limited. Up high, a box for the Hokage and any guests he might have. Below, a small railed box with no seats for combatants to look down upon the battlefield that made up the belly of this beast. The sides were normal seating, and a great deal of it, from ten feet off of the ground to nearly the rim of this big bowl. Row after row of chairs, rails, and the overhanging ceiling. The top was open though, like a sphere with the top cut off.

Where Loor stood, she could turn in a circle and see everyone. Fury trying to defuse a fight between Kiba and Kabuto, who were running around the edge and throwing rolls at each other with the girl managing to be the pickle in the middle. Akamaru was pushing a roll across the ground with his nose, wagging his tail the whole way. Ino was getting artistic about it, hanging the toilet paper like streamers from railing and supports, making bows and such for it to be pretty. Choji was walking about the Hokage's box, kicking a roll while munching on potato chips. Naruto was trying to talk Sakura into actually throwing a roll at someone while Hinata looked at a roll like she hadn't the faintest clue what to do with it. Temari, standing on one of the rails, was trying to hang some over a decorative strut that stuck out of the wall while Shikamaru, behind her, was mummifying seats. Kurenai and Asuma stood in the combatant's box below the Hokage's box, throwing rolls in random directions. Shino stood under the blank wall, sitting as his bugs went to work on pulling the paper up the blank wall and then sticking it there with some insect matter that we won't ask about. Kankuro was running about, aiming for people while firing off rolls like out of a high-powered canon. Even Gaara decided to try it, using the sand to hang the paper off of hard to reach places.

Loor stood there, staring off into space until something smacked her in the head. She yelped, looking over to see that Naruto had finally gotten Sakura to throw... but it had hit Loor. Sakura gave her profuse apologies, but Loor waved it off, grabbing the roll and turning to throw it at Ino.

In all the confusion... it was easy for Loor to slip away, almost unnoticed by the group of people she'd gotten together.

Almost.

She pretended to be unaware that she was being followed as she left, but she had gotten used to feeling Gaara's presence. She knew he was there, she just ignored him. She knew she'd started it, but she just couldn't bring herself to have fun.

Something was going to go horribly wrong tomorrow.

She let Gaara believe that she didn't notice him for quite a while, walking till she found herself in the forest again, till her feet found the grounds she knew, till she came upon the river. There, she stopped, and sat.

"Gaara... there's something I need to ask you."

"Hm?" He answered, stepping closer. She could hear his feet in the grass.

"Everyone has been warning me, everyone is telling me... me and Fury should run, that's what they say. Run before tomorrow and never look back, like some sort of disaster is going to happen, some catastrophe is going to strike... and I need to know what it is."

"You had to ask again, didn't you?"

There was a pause.

"Are you going to tell me?" She asked.

He sighed, his blackened eyes closing as he slowly sank to the ground. "You know I can't."

"Who's going to know if you tell me?" She asked, turning around in her spot and then scooting close to him, looking at him while taking his face in her hands. "It's just you and me out here, I know. No one till the village. No one to hear us, see us, know what we're doing, nothing."

His eyes came open, drifting up to her, questioning. "If I told you, you would tell the whole village. The Hokage, everyone."

"I promise I won't!" She insisted. "What's going to happen, Gaara? I... I want to know."

He suddenly snapped his head up to face her. She expected him to say something angry, frustrated, or along the lines of 'Leave me be, woman!' If he had, she would have been able to deal with that. What he did say though nearly threw her. He asked a question, one he had asked before that he never got an answer to.

"Do you love me?"

She stared at him, and scooted closer, almost sitting on his lap. At this distance she put her lips to his forehead, hugging him.

And she admitted it.

"...I believe that I do."

"Then trust me."

She put her forehead to his, looking into his eyes, and hefting a long sigh. "I know you don't want me to be there..."

"It's not too late for you to leave." He gave, looking as if she had given him some calm by saying that she might run yet. "You wouldn't have to go too far... get out of Konoha, or as far out into the forest as you can."

She shook her head, touching her lips lightly to his, looking sad. "I will not run." She stated simply. "I'll be there, at the finals."

"Loor..." He lifted a hand to her face, the other arm worming around her middle. "You'll die."

"You haven't killed me yet, Gaara." She giggled. "You won't kill me... Even if Shukaku is involved, I know you won't."

He gave a small and rueful chuckle. "Perhaps you trust me too much."

She sighed. _Perhaps. _


	66. The Chunnin Finals

**Markings- Chapter Sixty Six  
****The Chunnin Finals**

The prank at the stadium was becoming a thorn in Kabuto's side. Between keeping up with Kiba, which didn't really make him break a sweat, and keeping an eye out for Loor, he was the one person beside Gaara to notice when she left. It made him curse lightly, seeing as Loor was currently his target. By the time the stadium had exhausted their stores of toilet paper Kabuto had to question where Loor was, finally able to leave and look for her.

Of course, it was safe to assume that if she was still out she was with Gaara. Kabuto feared that the red head would ruin everything. If they spent the night again there would be no way to lead Loor away, seeing as Gaara needn't sleep and would be guarding her. Honestly, he was sure that the alliance between Sand and Sound no longer existed in Gaara's mind.

If he showed up, he was sure Gaara would kill him without asking any questions.

Still, he went out into the woods, looking over clearings as he passed them, aiming for the river Loor had taken a liking to of late. Isaki had been keeping tabs on her for a while now, so Kabuto and his master knew all of Loor's favorite places. They knew she liked to go onto the roof of the apartment complexes during the day rather than going out into the woods, though that wasn't very often since she was usually busy. They knew that she visited Lee every day, and what was said between them. With Isaki and Ryoshi keeping tabs on both targets, they knew everything they needed and more.

Kabuto was somewhat relieved but still on edge when he arrived at the river. Loor was there, still awake despite the fact that it was three in the morning. She stood there in a wide stance, her hands together in... the sign for tiger. Gaara was standing there too, speaking quietly.

Loor nodded to whatever he had said, doing two other signs quickly and going back to tiger, looking at a tree not far from where Kabuto was hidden.

Now then, Kabuto knew about Loor's past mishaps with lighting trees on fire when she was trying to climb them, but he also knew that Loor would never realize that her happy little accident could be turned into a new jutsu because she hated using chakra. What he didn't expect was Gaara's influence, seeing as the kid fought with nothing but chakra, and had a huge understanding of it. Where Loor didn't know or understand how most fire jutsu had to be blown out of one's mouth and risked burning oneself, Gaara would understand how conjuring up fire at a distance was next to unheard of and know it would be great material for creating a new jutsu.

Kabuto felt her sudden usage of a great deal of chakra. Soon, the tree she was staring at had a huge reaction to her release. In her past days, her target would simply sprout a small tongue of flame that a weak breeze could put out, easy as a match. This new jutsu, on the other hand, was not the case. Instead, Loor's target burst into flame, going all the way around the trunk and half way up the tree's height. Gaara quickly snuffed the flame out with sand, leaving a scorched tree that Loor had attacked. He looked a little proud of himself.

Kabuto, a few yards away from the target, had felt the heat from his hiding place. She had to be prone to the fire element to be able to do that! Orochimaru would want to know about all of this! Fire jutsu took a great deal of chakra to perform, and Loor's seemingly endless physical training probably helped her along in how much she had in her body, but it was still incredible.

Loor, also seeming proud, swayed on her feet. They had been working on this since their conversation before. She was happy to finally get it right, but she had expended herself to the point where she fell. Gaara, who was returning sand to the gourd on his back, quickly used what was still out of the gourd to catch her before she hit the ground, pulling her over and holding her in his arms as the sand returned to the gourd.

Her head bobbed back, showing that she had passed out. This caused Kabuto to curse in his mind. If Gaara decided to just sit and watch over her the plan would be completely ruined.

At first Kabuto felt his fears coming true, Gaara slowly placing her on the ground and taking off his gourd. Even more so, Gaara started to walk towards the trees, holding the straps for the holster that held the gourd on his back in one hand. It was not till Gaara had lent the gourd on a tree and gone back to pick Loor up again and carrying her on his back did Kabuto breathe again.

As he followed them, keeping a safe distance, he found that Gaara was carrying her back to the apartment she'd been living in. When he arrived at the door, it would seem that leaving the sand behind was a mistake, seeing as he had no way of unlocking the door without it. This assumption was wrong though. Gaara set Loor down, going through the pockets on her coat to eventually come up with the key to open the door. Kabuto waited, watching as Gaara carried her in. It took half an hour, but he eventually came out and went towards his hotel.

Kabuto gave a deep sigh when he saw this, kicking off to go find Ryoshi. The tall Sound nin was standing outside, near the hospital, where Kabuto had told him to be.

Ryoshi was all business when he saw Kabuto. "Ready?" He asked quickly. He seemed eager to get this over with.

Kabuto nodded quickly, looking towards the hospital. "Where is Isaki?"

"Hiding the boy." Ryoshi replied. "Out by the wall. No one should find him, and he won't have his crutches, so he won't be able to walk back."

"Perfect." Kabuto nodded, and then looked sharply at Ryoshi. "Well? What are you waiting for?"

Ryoshi nodded, turning behind himself and picking up two objects that were hidden in the shadows; Lee's crutches.

Kabuto watched, smugly, as Ryoshi went towards the hospital, hobbling along on these crutches. He was a perfect imitation of the boy who usually used them, a genjutsu in place to make him look like Lee and sound like him. Ryoshi had been watching Lee so that he would act like him too; a perfect copy.

This copy went into the hospital, and Kabuto waited for Isaki to return. She wasn't long, coming back and coming to the same attention Ryoshi did upon seeing the man who dished out her orders. "Kabuto." She greeted. "Is it time?"

"That it is." Kabuto motioned her to follow. "Come along."

They left off, back towards the apartment complexes. At first, Kabuto and Isaki kept their distance, in case some of those who had helped at the stadium were still returning to their homes. Still, after several moments going by and no one strolling through, they approached Loor's door.

Isaki glanced around before quickly picking the lock with a kit on her hip, opening the door and allowing Kabuto to go before her.

On the floor in the kitchen, Loor slept. It was far from peaceful, the girl fussing and tossing, gasping at some points and seeming to be in most discomfort on her blanket and pillow on the floor. Obviously, she was having a nightmare of some sort.

"Is she always like this?" Kabuto questioned.

"For as long as I've been watching her... she cries out for her family, probably having nightmares about the night they died. It might be why she hates sleeping so much." Isaki shook her head. "Poor thing."

"Isaki." Kabuto gave sternly, looking at the woman next to him. She straightened up at once, nodding.

"Right. My apologies."

Kabuto came closer to Loor, leaning down and doing a few signs, gathering up his chakra into one hand and then holding the glowing mass against Loor's mouth. Quickly, as if the chakra was some sort of sleeping drug, she settled into a deeper, dreamless, sleep. Kabuto picked her up, turning to Isaki while pulling the key out of Loor's pocket, tossing it to his assistant. "You know what to do."

Isaki nodded, putting her hands together and quickly performing the transformation jutsu, changing to an exact copy of Loor in a burst of smoke. She pocketed the key and went to take Loor's place on the blanket on the floor, and Kabuto left the apartment with the real Loor in his grip, shutting the door behind him.

He kicked off of the ground, moving back out into the woods quickly, aware that the jutsu he used on her wouldn't last too long. Soon she'd be back to her normal level of sleeping, and if he still had her she would probably wake up.

Thankfully, that didn't happen.

He carried her, sprinting across Konoha, diving deep into the woods, becoming eager to be finished with the first part of the plan. Where he went was not a specific, but simply how far he took his cargo before dumping her off, leaving her in the woods.

The whole point was for her to be completely lost.

She could not be allowed to find her way back, or else the plan would be ruined. So it was beyond the Forest of Death, and all the way to the wall that was the border of Konoha.

And he left her, lent upon that wall as she came back to her normal levels of sleep.

"Feel free to wake up, Loor." The kidnapper smirked, standing straight, pushing the glasses up on his nose. "The old tricks work the best, I suppose. You're too valuable to kill, but it's important you don't come running in at the wrong time."

Somewhere in Loor's nightmares, her head tossed to one side, moaning in what seemed to be pain and anguish. "...no..."

"Yes..." He hissed, smirking, turning to start walking away. "We've replaced you for a little while... just enough to send Gaara into the deep end, right before his fight. By the time you come running back, Loor..." He grinned. "The leaf village will be destroyed."

* * *

"Loor, c'mon, we're gonna be late!"

Isaki groaned slightly, waking up and cursing as how sore she was from holding up the jutsu in her sleep. Still, she tried to forget her soreness and yawned widely, glaring at the door. "Hold yer horses, Fury! I'm up! I'm up!"

Fury rapped on the door every five seconds as Isaki tripped out of the blanket, eventually making it to the door as she fumbled with the shoes that Loor left at the door. Finally, she opened the door to find Fury and Kiba outside.

"Sleep well, Blondie?" Kiba asked, his trademark grin in place.

Isaki growled at him, her half asleep trying to remember Loor's nickname for him. "Does it look like it...?" She suddenly remembered it. "Eh Scruffy?"

She inwardly winced at the flaw in her act. Sleeping in this disguise had done nothing to help her brain. Fury and Kiba seemed to blame it on the late night before, and quickly started tugging her along towards the stadium.

"Man!" Kiba was grinning. "I wonder what the look on the Hokage's face was when he went to see the stadium this morning!"

"Kiba, shut up!" Fury yelped. "You're such a loud mouth, what if someone heard you? Then they'd know it was us!"

Akamaru, hitching a ride on Kiba's head, yipped in agreement with Fury.

"Don't matter much for you guys, it was my idea." Isaki gave, yawning and trotting a little to keep up with the group. She, like Loor would in the morning heat, wore the green fuzzy coat around her shoulders to expose her black bra to the world, blond hair being obvious in how long it had gone unwashed.

"It was _yours?_" Fury seemed surprised. "I was sure it was one of Naruto's harebrained schemes, seeing as you ran off after we started."

"Yeah..." Kiba glanced over at her. "Why was that? I mean, Kabuto got real antsy after you left too. That was the only way I noticed."

"Air head." Isaki snorted, "Anyway, I don't know why Kabuto got weird when I left, but I just wanted some air. No biggy."

"Gaara left too." Fury noted. "Did you guys go somewhere together?"

"Yeah." The impostor nodded slightly.

Fury and Kiba glanced at each other, and Fury stopped to put her hand on 'Loor's' head. "Are you sick?"

"Hm?" She pulled her head back, snorting. "Crazy person, of course not."

"You never come right out and say it when you and Gaara have been hanging out."

Flaw two. Isaki assumed that if she slipped a third time she'd find herself caught. Kiba's nose was probably going to start detecting things soon. Best to remove herself.

"Oh, God!" She suddenly yelped. "I forgot, I promised Lee I'd come and get him! The hospital won't let him come unless he has someone with him!"

Isaki quickly ran off, leaving a confused couple behind her as she turned the nearest corner to lean against a wall, heaving her breath.

Gods that was close. Almost too close... Orochimaru would kill her for sure if she messed up now.

She took off towards the hospital, hoping she wouldn't have any more slips today.

* * *

Fury and Kiba had arrived early for the finals, finding that several Jonin had been up since six in the bloody morning to clean up the mess that 'Several unknown individuals' had made last night. Since they couldn't just burn the paper or anything without risking the stadium, it took a group of twenty Konoha Jonin to clean up the mess in two hours.

The couple got fairly good seats, not the first to arrive early at the stadium. Within half an hour, the place was packed to the brim. Sakura, Ino, and Choji and arrived to keep Fury and Kiba company, and Hinata arrived soon after that, sitting on the side of Kiba that Fury wasn't.

Fury kept shifting. Loor never arrived with Lee, but Kiba calmed her nerves by pointing out that Lee had to move slow with crutches and that the couple was probably forced to go to a higher level of seats as the ones closer to the ground filled up. They'd all meet up at the end.

Attention was called as Sarutobi, the Hokage, arrived in his box. At his side was a Jonin, a guard, and one man to occupy the other chair in the box.

In the other chair, in robes much like the Hokage's, was the Kazekage; leader of the Sand village and the wind country. Where the Hokage's robes were red and white, the Kazekage wore a similar pattern of blue and white. Their hats matched too, though differing again in color. The main difference was that the Kazekage had a cloth draped across his face so that all that a person could see were his eyes.

Of course, from far away in the seats and the battlefield, one couldn't even see that.

The finals were set up tournament style. Everyone had been drawn at the preliminaries for their first fight. Pair by pair, contestants would be eliminated and then move onto the next round. The contest only had one winner, but the losers didn't necessarily lose their chance at graduating from Genin to Chunnin. The judges, wherever they were, would watch for strategy and promote those who showed the most promise as shinobi, not those who had the most brute force.

The combatants were gathering in their box, all three of the sand siblings present, along with Neji, Shino, and Shikamaru. Odd that two contestants were missing. Sasuke had been gone for about a month, having disappeared for training with Kakashi. No one knew where he was. As for Naruto, who was also missing, many people assumed that he had slept in.

Naruto and Neji were the first match, which was bad news if Naruto didn't show up soon.

Fury watched, biting her lower lip as Neji turned into the depths of the combatant's box to go to the stairs at the back and come out through the doorway below that went onto the field. He stood there, expectantly, with a Jonin who was the referee.

Naruto was given five minuets to show up before he would be disqualified.

"Great, I wanted to see Naruto beat that kid's ass..." Kiba muttered. "Now he doesn't even show up? He beat me, he ought to go all the way on that!"

"Kiba..." Fury gave, frowning a little. "Don't be so mean."

"What? Neji deserves a good beating! Someone needs to teach that kid a lesson."

"...Kiba..." Hinata murmured from Kiba's other side.

"Hinata, you can't go defending him!" Kiba seemed appalled. "He almost killed you! You can't just let that go!"

Hinata looked like she wanted to say something, but stayed quiet for a few moments before finally saying, "I'm sure Naruto will come... I spoke to him today... he..." She turned red, like she always did when talking about Naruto. Also, after a few seconds, she coughed a little bit. She couldn't help it; she'd been having fits for a few days now, since she started walking again.

Kiba nodded a little, and Fury yelped as the crowed around suddenly started cheering.

Naruto had just busted through the doors, looking a little fluffed but otherwise fine and dandy, and ready to compete. Thank goodness he had come when he did; they were just about to disqualify him.

* * *

"Think that Neji kid noticed us when he went out?" Isaki asked. After getting Ryoshi they had managed to get back to the stadium before Fury and Kiba had arrived. For now, they were hiding in the shadows to keep from notice, but their hiding place was the middle landing for the stairs between the field and the combatant's box. Neji's eyes were legendary, along with the rest of the Hyuga family, so it was a bit of a worry if such eyes would notice them.

Ryoshi shrugged while dismounting the crutches that he didn't need, still wearing Lee's form. No matter what, they had to stay in their disguises. Dropping it would mean discovery before the invasion started, and would mean their heads. "I don't think so... how long is it till Gaara's fight?"

"I think he and Sasuke are next, but Sasuke hasn't shown up yet..."

"Lovely... if Sasuke never shows up, we'll have to wait till next round. This could take a few hours." Isaki sighed, shaking her head.

"I don't think it will... I've heard about Sasuke; he's the wonder kid of the academy. Perfect marks on everything, never late, never absent. He'll be here for his fight. His fight with Gaara is one of the reasons there are so many dignitaries from other lands here right now; they want to see those two go at it. If Sasuke doesn't show, they'll probably riot."

Isaki winced, frowning. They didn't need a riot, they needed Gaara heading towards his fight to set him off.

She reminded herself that she'd probably die wearing this disguise.


	67. Biting Death

**Markings- Chapter Sixty Seven  
****Biting Death**

Fury and Kiba sat through Naruto's fight on the edges of their seats. At first it looked like Neji would dominate with speed and the Byakugan on his side, but somehow, after almost every point in Naruto's body had been turned off, something in him allowed him to still use chakra. Fury knew what it was from things Loor had told her, and things Naruto had told her. Naruto had a second source of chakra, the demon in him. The Byakugan could attack _his_ chakra, that was for sure. The fox though, the demon, was something Neji couldn't attack.

In the end, Naruto won the fight against Neji, and returned to the hot box with the pride that he would progress to the next round.

Odd as it was... Sasuke still hadn't shown up. Unrest ran through the crowd, along with the Kages in the box overseeing it all. Fury had gone to watching them, and saw that the Kazekage had leaned over to Sarutobi to say something, and eventually Sarutobi pulled the Jonin next to him closer to say something, and that Jonin jumped down from the box, which was probably four stories up by the way, to talk to the ref.

It was announced that Sasuke and Gaara's match would be postponed and they would go on with the next match instead. Some of the dignitaries booed, others shifting in their seats, and Kiba noted that the sand siblings, at least the older ones, had started arguing with each other.

The next match was between Kankuro and Shino... from which Kankuro withdrew. Yes, withdrew. Didn't fight. Fury questioned why as the unrest and tension mounted with the crowd of people. They wanted fighting, and some of them were getting ready to start with some those beside them.

In the tension, Hinata started in on another fit. Kiba at once attended to her, and Fury also leaned over as the fit didn't stop very quickly. Hinata didn't straighten up for several minuets, and when she did, there was blood on the hand she'd use to cover her mouth.

"Oh gods..." Kiba muttered, glancing around. They needed help... like, now.

"Hey."

Fury glanced up to see a man in a brown cloak and white mask standing on the stairs that ran between sets of seats. Since they were on the end of their row, this guy could stand right over Hinata. His white mask resembled some sort of animal, and Fury remembered that such white masks were marks of shinobi part of an elite force that worked right under the Hokage; The ANBU black ops.

This guy was powerful, even if the brown cloak made it so he didn't look like much. At once, the ANBU crouched by Hinata, who had blacked out. "She needs help."

Akamaru started barking at this guy, seeming to be frantic. Some would realize later that the dog was warning of danger, but Kiba wasn't listening at the time.

"No crap!" Kiba yelped, not noticing that on the battlefield that Temari had come down to fight, her match up next. Her opponent was Shikamaru.

The ANBU picked Hinata up, jerking his head at Kiba and Fury. "Come with me."

Kiba and Fury fell in line behind the elite shinobi as the match between Shikamaru and Temari began. He walked all the way to the back of their seating section, behind all the chairs to get away from the people, into the hall that led to the stairs that got them up where they were. Leaning down and putting Hinata on the ground, he turned his masked head toward Fury and Kiba. "I'm very good with medical jutsu. I'll fix her right up, so please don't worry."

Kiba, who still looked worried, nodded a little. Akamaru had silenced, whining a little in the back of his throat. Fury stood close to Kiba, biting her lip as the ANBU did several hand signs, his hands eventually glowing a healing green. He unzipped Hinata's coat, exposing a thin black shirt she wore under it and gently putting his hands at the top of her chest and the middle of her stomach. After a few seconds her ragged breathing began to even.

"Wow..." Kiba seemed to be in awe.

Fury quickly did a proper bow. "Thank you mister--"

"Hey, what are you-- Uh... wha...? Oh..."

Fury glanced up to the ANBU to see that his hands were still glowing green, having laid one on Kiba's forehead, the other on Akamaru. Promptly, both subjects passed out, as if the healing green light had become a sinister sleeping gas. "What are you doing...?" Fury asked slowly, standing straight an then backing up a little bit.

Maybe if she ran back into the crowd screaming for help...

The ANBU suddenly appeared behind her, cutting off her retreat. "Just my job, Fury, not that I'm not enjoying it."

Fury tried to turn around to face him, but he wouldn't let her, grabbing her shoulders and pushing her into the nearest wall, holding there with one arm. She could sense him taking off his mask, hear it dropping on the floor after a few seconds.

She heard the crowd going into an uproar outside, but it was dull as she could feel the man behind her building up chakra for something. A jutsu of some sort, and she could feel at once that she wasn't going to like the effects. It was shaping, changing, as the person holding her to this wall was some how making hand signs with one hand.

She began to shake as he drew his head closer to her right shoulder. She could feel him breathing on her neck.

"This is going to hurt." He said right out. His voice was odd though. She almost recognized it, but she could hear something else to it...

It sounded like fangs were hindering his speaking.

The hand holding her to the wall shifted over her mouth as the man bit her, but this strange bite hurt so much more than it should have. She felt snake-like fangs penetrating her shoulder, feeling a spurt of chakra from them like venom. She screamed, but it was into his hand, so it was too muffled to be heard. Her own pain drowned out the sound of the crowd, the heat of the day, leaving her cold fear and extreme agony.

The man pulled away, sucking the blood off of his teeth and letting her fall as she almost instantly blacked out.

"Don't worry, Fury." He smirked, pushing up his glasses and leaning down to pick up his mask. "Someday, you'll thank me for this."

Kabuto wiped his mouth on one brown sleeve and put the mask back on, going back to being an ANBU impostor just as the current match ended, Shikamaru on the verge of emerging victorious, having Temari cornered, before withdrawing from the fight because it was, according to him, too much work.

* * *

Fury found herself in a prepared hallucination, induced by the jutsu that strange man had used on her. She still felt the pain, but it was everywhere. In this strange world, she found herself feeling like she always did on a bad day; small and insignificant. All around her, in this strange place, were people she knew, all doing things she couldn't, or doing things she liked to do but doing them better than she could.

She looked around, starting to walk through this gallery of things that reminded her over and over again that she was weaker, smaller, and not as smart as some, and other things. This people, without saying a word, picked on every insecurity she had.

It seemed at the end of this road was Loor, standing there, with her back to Fury. Fury felt some sort of relief, running for Loor. Loor never tired to make her feel bad, even if she did it on accident.

Loor made a sudden lunge at someone in front of her, and Fury watched as she could see Loor fighting someone.

Another thing someone was better at. Fury's hope of feeling better died, stepping back and almost crying as she realized the person Loor was fighting was none other than Kiba. The two tore into each other with rage, screaming, striking blood, and all going with more skill than Fury felt she would ever muster.

"They're stronger than you Fury... you know that."

Fury turned around quickly, gasping, to find the masked man behind her. The animal painted on his mask seemed to smirk down at her. "What are you doing to me?!" She nearly screamed.

"I'm showing you how things are... how much better they are than you... and how they'll always be if you never have help." The masked man drew closer. "You see, Fury, _I _want to help you become strong, stronger than your sister could ever be." He offered his hand out to her. "Would you like that?"

Fury glanced back at Loor and Kiba practically killing each other. She felt anguish and envy.

She looked back at the masked man and nodded slowly, taking his hand and shaking.

A second later she fell into the void of a nightmare ridden sleep.

* * *

Gaara was walking from the holding box, down the stairs of the stadium, towards his match. Sasuke was yet to show up, but Gaara had confidence. He walked with indecision in his gate, though. Insanity should have been pulsing through his veins, and all he could think of was Loor's lips on his the night before.

His head didn't raise as he heard voices ahead, even if they were the voices of Shikamaru and Naruto, people he knew. He continued walking, and his ears started distinguish words as he grew closer.

"...oh yuk... they need to get a room..." Naruto's voice groused.

"I thought she liked Gaara..."

This brought him a bit out of his stasis. Gaara lifted his head a little, listening more. He was growing close to where the hall opened into a square room that had a stairwell, where Naruto and Shikamaru were standing. Of course, that meant there was a corner to the side of the hall that someone could hide behind. Now that he was listening, he could suddenly hear them... two people, breathing against each other, muttering little whispers in some odd breathless state.

It sparked his curiosity after what Shikamaru had said. He stopped walking, listening.

"I... Love you..."

Gaara twitched. That was Loor's voice! Why was Loor saying that to anyone? What were the odd sounds he was hearing? Why was she breathless?

"What about Gaara?"

If anyone had gone to the trouble of monitoring the change in Gaara's behavior in the last weeks, one would say that he had gained some measure of sanity. Perhaps more than a measure, not the raging creature he was before, not controlled by his demon, not even looking upon people in blood lust anymore, not even in passing.

Hearing the voice around the corner started to rip away that sanity, break it, smash it to tiny bits, as it made it through his mind who it was, making Loor like this.

It was Lee's voice that questioned, Lee's slightly breathless voice that inquired.

Lee's voice that made Gaara want to kill.

It was a simple urge, one that his sanity was quick to cull, but it wouldn't last for long. No, not after he heard the reply.

"Fuck him." She gave, giving an evil giggle. "Who could love him, the monster he is? Not even me, and I've been trying to help the poor bastard."

The urge to kill had become a need. Gaara felt his insanity at his fingertips, his blood lust, so much that he took no time to analyze what had just happened, what she had just said, driven mad with jealousy and betrayal. He dashed out from the corner, staring at the act that took place just out of his sight, yanking out the cork from his gourd in the same motion. He was hardly calm about this, as he was with most of his kills. He was frantic.

The couple in the corner had more than met at the lips, practically marring each other, breaking apart as the raging beast came out of the hall, glowering upon both of them, sand rearing out of the gourd, ready to give them death. Lee it was, on crutches, doing this strange act to Loor...

His Loor. Gaara's Loor.

There was shocked silence as the two people, Naruto and Shikamaru, paid witness to the brutal death of the boy who wore green spandex, the crutches crushed with his body. Gaara didn't use much pressure, less than needed, so he could hear the boy scream. And scream he did, dying in one of the most painful ways possible.

And echoing that scream was Loor.

The mangled body dropped to the ground as Gaara turned upon her, knocking her back with a bar of sand, panting out of his mouth, eyes wide, feeling life like he knew it flowing through him out of the blood that had been split. Loor was upon the ground, cowering before him, having been knocked into a wall. She clutched her green coat to herself, staring up to Gaara with one pure emotion clear in her eyes.

Fear.

"Gaara, stop!"

Naruto's voice called him out, but Gaara flicked a hand, walking into the hallway that he had knocked Loor into, sand doing as bidding and creating a wall to cap it off, letting him face her in peace. "Why...?" He hissed.

"I...I..." She panted, looking up at him, using her feet to push back on the ground. "I didn't... I'm not..."

"Not lying?!" He spat at her. "I thought I could trust you!"

Gaara had recessed. It was obvious in his words that he had been hurt enough. He felt the instant gratification of killing again, like a missed friend coming to his side when he needed it the most.

"No, I am!" She yelped, trying to get up and tripping as he advanced. "I am lying to you!"

"Then die!" He shouted, taking upon her with the sand, pinning her to the wall, leaving her head free, wanting to see her die.

"No!!" She screamed. "Please!"

And it laid wrong in his head. Something wasn't quite right here. She was screaming for her life... something common among humans, to plead for their lives.

But Loor had never...

She had never feared him.

"Who are you?" He demanded, letting off the pressure for a moment. "What is your name?"

"Don't you know who I am?!" She snapped, opening her eyes to glare at him.

He put the pressure back. "Answer me with your name!"

"AHH! Okay, okay! Let me breathe!"

"Answer!"

"Loor!"

"Then why are you pleading for your life?!"

"I'm fucking afraid! People fear for their lives, it's human nature!"

She suddenly dropped to the ground, and she panted, curling, looking up at the red headed male who stood over her, looking down with cold eyes.

"You are not Loor." He stated, simply. "She's never been afraid."

The girl on the floor panted for breath for several more moments, and swallowed, letting the genjutsu go. Gaara watched as the fake shell of Loor's long blond hair and freckled skin was replaced by a pale sound nin. "My name is Isaki..." She muttered, in shame.

"Who did I just kill?"

"My partner... Ryoshi..."

Gaara panted, looking back and forth, up and down the hall, aware of how time was wasting. "I should kill you... regardless... you have no idea what you toy with..." He still felt his addiction at his fingertips. This recession would fade, probably, but he was still in the state of lusting. This Isaki had wronged him, and still bore a fair amount of power on her shoulders... he could kill her... he wanted to kill her.

"Please do..." She muttered, lowering her head.

"You were just begging for me not to." He pointed out.

"There's no point in going on... if you don't kill me, I will kill myself." She looked up to him in earnest. "I know well what matters I toy with, Gaara We were told, me and Ryoshi, to toy with love. I think only he and I understand exactly the impact of it. We knew we were to die on this mission. If I am forced to go on..." She sighed, pulling a dagger out of her side holster. "_Supuku_ is my only option... he's my comrade... and my lover."

Gaara stood there, seemingly unmoved by her speech. He knew what _Supuku_ was, it was the only honorable way to die, a way of killing oneself that was so painful it was said to cleanse the soul of all it's sins.

And he watched as she noted he wasn't going to kill her.

Was love this powerful? It was the question that ran through his mind as she used the dagger, opening her abdomen with a deep cut and allowing various things that were never meant to be exposed to the open air to spill out. She didn't let herself fall either, letting the blade go and holding herself up, panting, looking down at her own mess.

Gaara walked closer, slowly, aware of the only thing he could do for her. She wanted to die with her honor intact... which meant there was only one thing he was allowed to do. He took the same dagger she had put aside, grabbed her short hair, and took the merciful blade across her neck.

Her death was faster than that of her lover... perhaps Gaara knew some mercy.

* * *

Naruto had dashed away when Gaara had capped off the hall, well aware that Loor was already good as dead. As he rushed outside, Shikamaru several yards behind him because he moved slower, Naruto started glancing in every direction for someone he could get help from.

He felt like he was about to cry. Loor... the only person he knew who was willing to accept him at a glance, was gone.

As frantic as he was, he was still able to notice as a new arrival came into the stadium. Sasuke had finally come, which was a good thing because the crowd around was about to start killing people if Sasuke and Gaara's match got postponed anymore. Thing was, Kakashi came with him.

Naruto watched as Kakashi left Sasuke to go into the stands near where Sakura was sitting, where Gai sensei had gone to stand and watch.

Wait... Kakashi was a great shinobi. Kakashi could help!!

"KAKASHI!!"

Naruto had set to run to his sensei as fast as he could while screaming his head off over the roar of the crowd as Gaara finally came out onto the field as well.

The silver haired sensei glanced up when Naruto made it to him and Gai, his one visible eye curious. "Hm?"

Naruto could not restrain himself in the following statement.

"Gaara... Gaara just killed Lee and Loor!"

Both sensei looked at Naruto in utter shock, and perhaps a small measure of horror.

"WHAT?!" Gai was the first to react, grabbing Naruto by the front of his coat. "What are you talking about?! Where? When?"

"Just a few moments ago!" Naruto was in tears, and Gai wasn't far behind. "Gaara saw the two of them making out on his way to the field, and he busted out the sand on both of them!"

"Naruto, Gai, calm down!"

Both of the addressed looked at Kakashi. "Loor wouldn't do that, and we all know it."

"Well she did!" Naruto crowed.

"I doubt it." Kakashi gave, shaking his head, looking down to the field. "Loor was more infatuated with Gaara than she was with Lee... and she'd know what hall he'd be coming through. This action was planned by someone else... and they wanted something."

Gai didn't buy it. "Kakashi, how can you be so calm! Lee is--"

"Not dead." Kakashi cut Gai off. "Do you honestly see Lee making out with someone in public? He may be a teenage boy, but he's well mannered enough to keep such things to his own home."

There were a few moments, and Shikamaru finally managed to catch up with Naruto. The boy looked rather disgusted, but otherwise fine. "Naruto, it wasn't them."

"Wha??" Naruto wheeled around, staring at Shikamaru. "Who was it??"

"A couple of sound nin." Shikamaru shrugged. "They put up a genjutsu... which means someone wanted Gaara to be really pissed off right before this match. The weird thing is that Gaara might have killed the second one, but she was already dying."

"Huh?" Kakashi was the one confused now.

"Yeah." Shikamaru shuddered. "_Supuku." _

"Disgusting... yet with honor..." Gai muttered, standing straight now, looking a bit calmer. "She must have been upset... not happy about what they were doing."

"Or she was planning on dying anyway." Kakashi gave, once again glancing to the field. "Wait a second..."

All four heads turned to the field, just as things were getting interesting. Gaara and Sasuke had their bout going back and forth for a few moments already, but Sasuke had backed off and Gaara had blocked off any potential attack by putting himself within a shell of sand, a round ball to protect him.

Sasuke was backing off, getting ready to do something.

Kakashi sighed... it was all about to hit the fan.


	68. Enter Sandman

Extra AU here... I do not own the song 'Enter Sandman' by Metalica.

**Markings- Chapter Sixty Eight  
****Enter Sandman**

Within the sand shell, Gaara held his hands together to gather chakra, forming the sign of the ram, sitting, his head down, fading form his physical person and into his mental person.

This was the plan all along. Gaara's father, the Kazekage, had agreed to this. Gaara was to allow Shukaku, no, _help_ Shukaku completely take him over... and begin the destruction the leaf village from the inside as the invasion from Sound began working over the walls.

His mental projection stood under Shukaku's hulking form, preparing for what he had to do.

_**Are you ready? **_Shukaku hissed, a sick grin in place, showing the yellowed teeth of his maw.

_----------------------- _

_Say your prayers little one  
__Don't forget, my son  
__To include everyone_

_----------------------- _

_I'm ready... _Gaara felt it again, the insanity, the blood lust. He thought the recession would fade, but his addiction was back full force. He didn't fear Shukaku... he wanted the beast to come out, to kill everyone. No... he didn't want it... he needed it. _Are you ready? _

_----------------------- _

_Tuck you in, warm within  
__Keep you free from sin  
__Till the sandman he comes_

_----------------------- _

_**I'm ready... **_Shukaku had begun to shrink to Gaara's size, the comforting size, crawling close to the boy, once again eying the object in the boy's hand, the teddy that was held so loosely by his hands, about ready to fall to the floor on its own accord, as if Gaara hardly cared for the thing... hardly cared for his sanity. This little form came close, brushing Gaara's hair with his claws, grinning at the fact that with the lies Gaara had been told this tiny form, and his teddy, had both made a return. _**You're a good boy, aren't you? **_

Gaara nodded, slowly. _Yes... I want to be a good boy... _

It was then that Gaara's hand suddenly clutched the teddy, suddenly realized something.

This wasn't right!

He yelled, throwing himself away from Shukaku. _Take my body... I will not give up my mind!_

_----------------------- _

_Sleep with one eye open  
__Gripping your pillow tight_

_----------------------- _

Shukaku bounded after him, hissing, claws getting longer. _**You can never make this easy for me, can you, whelp? Always have to fight you for it...**_

Gaara backed off further. _Why do you have to break my sanity?? Why can't you just posses me and get this over with?!_

Shukaku laughed at him, a frightening sound on it's own, full of menace. _**Because Gaara... eventually, I will break your mind enough that it won't even be you anymore. I'm taking over this shell, little by little. I'm tired of being the backseat driver... I'll take you over, consume you, one way or another. Your body is not enough for me... I must subsist on my own! **_

_----------------------- _

_Exit light  
__Enter night  
__Take my hand  
__Off to never-never land._

_----------------------- _

Shukaku pounced when he shouted, but Gaara was bigger now, harder to take down. The boy's sanity was getting stronger as he remembered why he had it. He pushed against Shukaku, holding his ground and taking his bear within his teeth, putting his hands in fists against Shukaku's paws, engaging in a contest of will with the beast. _This is my mind! I must exist! _

_**For what purpose? Shukaku pushed, kicking off the ground to try and shove Gaara over, but the boy moved to the side, letting Shukaku knock himself off balance. Why must you exist? Some divine reason, or are you just afraid of what's on the other side? **_

_----------------------- _

_Somethings wrong, shut the light  
__Heavy thoughts tonight  
__And they aren't snow white_

_----------------------- _

_I don't know! _Gaara yanked, pulling Shukaku to trip again, panting through his nose. _I still have to find it! _

Shukaku yanked back as he was pulled by Gaara, causing the boy to leave the ground, both of them rolling several times, the boy coming out on top of the squabble. At once, he started at punching Shukaku's face, but it seemed to have no effect. Shukaku used this time to grab Gaara and throw him away, to the ground. _**You **__**do**__** know why you want to exist! It's why you almost submitted to me! She's driven you mad, has she? Women, tricky little bitches, always got you barking up the wrong tree! **_

_----------------------- _

_Dreams of war, dreams of liars  
__Dreams of dragon's fire  
__And things that will bite_

_----------------------- _

Gaara took the bear out of his mouth, clutching it in his hands once more, getting up to stare at Shukaku, who had thrown him a fair distance. _I can love her... that's never going to change. _

_**Love! **_Shukaku snorted. _**Hyuk... don't make me laugh, you pitiful little boy! You were about to kill someone you thought was her on the whim that she might have done you wrong! **_Shukaku charged, roaring, claws fully extended, clearing the distance he had thrown Gaara in an instant, taking the boy down, ready to lay teeth into anything. He took no chances with him this time, fully powered by his chakra supplies, wanting to take Gaara down quickly before the boy regained any power from the day before.

_I didn't want him to have her! _

_----------------------- _

_Sleep with one eye open  
__Gripping your pillow tight_

_----------------------- _

_**Silly... **_Shukaku had pinned Gaara down now, and the boy had no fight left in him. Shukaku was going to win, again. _**If I myself wasn't taken with the girl, I'd get rid of her... but there's a plan here, and it has a great deal in it for me.**_ He lifted his nose, taking a whiff, as if to be comic. _**I can already smell the blood... can you, Gaara?**_

Gaara wasn't given time to answer, Shukaku ripping away the teddy.

Ripping away Gaara's sanity.

_----------------------- _

_Exit light  
__Enter night  
__Take my hand  
__Off to never-never land._

_----------------------- _

Beyond that, Shukaku went to attacking Gaara's mental body. This was beyond the partial possessions during full moons, this was a full possession, where Shukaku could fully unleash his power in all of its destructive glory.

Shukaku consumed him.

_----------------------- _

_Now I lay me down to sleep (Now I lay me down to sleep)  
__Pray the lord my soul to keep (Pray the lord my soul to keep)  
__If I die before I wake (If I die before I wake)  
__Pray the lord my soul to take (Pray the lord my soul to take)_

_----------------------- _

Gaara loosed screaming like one should never have to hear. Shukaku never had chosen to take him so painfully before. Perhaps it was punishment for resistance, though Shukaku seemed to enjoy the slight challenge. Regardless, this pain was beyond his sanity-ripping nightmares that would consume his mind once Shukaku had full control, worse than anything.

Shukaku could have still done more to him.

_----------------------- _

_Hush little baby, don't say a word  
__And never mind that noise you heard  
__It's just the beast under your bed  
__In your closet, in your head! _

_----------------------- _

Though, oddly, this pain compared little to the pain Gaara was about to experience. Outside his mind, outside his shell, was Sasuke, preparing a skill he had been working all month long with Kakashi, the reason the two had been missing for a month. Of course, the shell went to protect Gaara at all costs, but this skill was very powerful... a mass of destructive chakra with the lightning element, so powerful it took on a physical presence... known for the sound it makes, the sounds of birdsong.

The jutsu was called Chidori, or song of a thousand birds. A jutsu that a person could only use twice in a day without killing themselves from chakra extortion... if they were lucky.

_----------------------- _

_Exit light  
__Enter night  
__Grain of sand..._

_----------------------- _

This blue glow of electrical energy gathered around Sasuke's hand, and he ran at this sand shell with the plan to puncture it, unaware of the transformation going on inside. The shell seemed to know it was in danger, spikes leaping off of its surface, but Sasuke dodged around them, charging forward, yelling, and preparing to push this powerful probe into the orb in front of him.

_"CHIDORI!" _

His hand slammed into the shell, and smashed through. He had no idea what he struck, but he knew at once that it wasn't human... and it screamed. Sasuke let himself stay, according to curiosity. What had he hit? Certainly it couldn't be Gaara...? No, not Gaara...

He winced as he felt sudden pain bloom on his arm, yanking back, yelling. Whatever he had hit, it had gotten rather pissed off.

_----------------------- _

_Exit light  
__Enter night  
__Take my hand  
__We're off to never-never land_

_----------------------- _

But he couldn't yank away now, for the thing had taken hold on his arm and was trying to pull him in, trying to pull his arm right off, perhaps, crush it, as the hole made by the Chidori had started to close upon his shoulder. Sasuke pulled, yelling, slowly gaining ground...

As a sand colored paw followed. It held him from the elbow down, large, more shown as Sasuke pulled further and further away. It was riddled with purple veins, pulsing with a power that was far too horrific for Sasuke to face...

And it let him go. Sasuke fell back, staring back as there was still an open hole, a window into the orb, a looking glass to which he saw nothing at first...

The sand colored hide flashed past, and the whole crowd held it's breath. Within the stadium, not a word was uttered. No one drew a single breath... they were all waiting for something... anything...

As the ground suddenly shook.

The orb crumbled to show Gaara on his knees, clutching his right shoulder; it was bleeding, staining his clothes crimson, the transformation left incomplete and thus fading. He panted in a pain he hardly knew.

Gaara had never bled before in his life. This was the one pain he had never known.

He threw his head back to scream, and the invasion began.

* * *

When Loor woke up, it was to the morning sun. Her nose was the first thing to start working again, informing her that she was outside. Ah, she passed out last night, training with Gaara. By the smell of the early morning, he should have still been there, watching over her.

She cracked an eye open. "Gaara?" She questioned, lifting her head up and glancing around.

The river was not in sight.

"Gaara?" She asked again, slowly getting her sore muscles to comply with the order of getting her to her feet. Everything hurt since she had passed out from minor chakra extortion. Gaara was right... fire jutsu took a lot out of you. The only time she'd really be willing to use it would be a last ditch thing, because in the heat of battle she'd probably put all she had into it.

She had named the new skill the fire burst jutsu.

She glanced around for the other person responsible for the creation of that jutsu, but Gaara was nowhere to be seen, and Loor honestly had no idea where she was. This wasn't her clearing. Actually, it wasn't a clearing at all. She felt like she was in the middle of the forest...

She backed up two steps before her back hit the barrier wall that marked Konoha's full limits. There were two walls, one that ringed the main village and another that marked village limits. She was by the larger of the two, which was village limits.

Loor knew she was lost; that was obvious. Still, she had to find her way back, and there was no way to know which way was the right way to go from the ground, surrounded by a huge wall and gigantic trees.

Still... the two walls met at the north ridge, at the Hokage's Palace and the Great Stone Faces.

She turned to the wall, quickly performing chakra focus to start walking up the wall. From the top, she would be able to see which way the village was...

She hoped.

Going up the wall was easier said than done. Honestly, this thing was probably five stories high... or ten. As she went higher and higher, feeling sweat on her brow as she became aware that losing her chakra focus at this height would mean instant death, she felt a strange familiarity of the situation.

Wasn't it the same way the day of the first part of the Chunnin exams, when she had passed out training and then found herself in the Forest of Death, unawares of how she got there, climbing up something to find out which way to go?

She pushed herself to walk a little faster up the wall, panting a little while keeping her head on straight. She wouldn't go back down the wall, she'd just climb to the top and walk along it till she got to the point where the two walls joined together. The Chunnin stadium was built right into the wall, so she could walk, or run, the whole way there on this wall.

Orochimaru had to be behind this... she would get him for it too. If she was left out here, she had to assume there was a party that she wasn't invited to.

She feared that Fury might have been. Or Gaara. Or both.

Getting to the top of the wall took a very long time, but she eventually made it. It had probably taken about half an hour to walk to the top of this wall, no joke.

She had to wonder how long this thing took to build. Knowing the shinobi and their kind with jutsu and such, probably not as long as she would assume.

The wall was probably at least ten feet thick, the top flat and big enough to drive a car on... or even have two lanes if someone added a rail to the mix. Fearing the edges, she moved to the center before sitting on her butt for a few seconds, panting and looking around.

To either side, it was a sea of forest. It didn't end with the village limits. If anything, the woods became taller and thicker out side of the village. Glancing at the early morning sun, Loor turned in the direction she thought was north, looking up and feeling her jaw drop at what she saw.

She could see the mountain with the great stone faces that loomed over the Hokage's residence, meaning that she was facing Konoha, but there was the fact that the mountain looked to be hardly more of a speck on the horizon, a little peak that pointed her back to where she needed to get.

At least she could see it...

She pushed herself to her feet, beginning at a walk but going to jog. She began to run as she reminded herself that Fury could be in danger, dashing and sprinting while thinking about Gaara.

She had to get back...

Every way she looked at it, there was only one person who could have put her out here, and this person was probably putting some other plan into motion as she was rushing back.

"OROCHIMARU!!"

She doubted he could hear her... but it made her feel as if she had warned him that she was coming back full force.

He was going to learn what happened when he messed with her friends.


	69. Curse To Curse

Last chapter. Yeah. Seriously. MAJOR CLIFFY!!! I'll come up with the next part of Markings... I have no idea, honestly. So yes, I'm going to leave you hanging on a huge cliff by a dead sapling. Why? Because it would be no fun if I didn't.

See you later punks.

**No ownage.**

OWTF!!!

**Markings- Chapter Sixty Nine  
****Curse To Curse**

Chaos had consumed the village.

The shaking of the ground as Gaara loosed his scream turned out to be the foreshadowing of the arrival of the spearhead of the Sound invasion: A gigantic summoned snake. This creature, probably as big as the stadium while coiled, had slammed its massive body into the area where the two walls of Konoha came together to shatter them, opening up a hole in Konoha's defenses for an army of shinobi, both from the villages of Sand and Sound, to enter the village and attack.

But even then, before that, it would be shown that Kabuto was not the only impostor among the ABUN black ops that were in the stadium. They were all around, at least one in every seating section, using a group jutsu to force everyone in the crowd to sleep. Only aware jonin who knew releases to such a jutsu were able to resist. Before the impostors could be rooted out, they moved back in with the real ones.

Kakashi would have been one to go looking for them, but his hands were a little full. The invading forces were in the stadium too, and both he and Gai were defending themselves, taking enemies as they came.

On the battlefield, Sasuke stood as Kankuro and Temari came to their little brother, quickly tending to him. With him wounded, they're only option was to run and live to fight another day.

When they ran, Sasuke followed. He was a shinobi, and it was his duty to protect the village with his life. Gaara was still a threat; he had to be taken care of.

Aside from all of this... perhaps it was the Kage's box that was the most interesting.

Much had progressed there, leaving Sarutobi's bodyguard wounded on the ground as the Kazekage's betrayal of the alliance between Sand and Leaf became very clear.

As these Kages faced each other, a fight was sure to break out. It was even surer to happen with the Kazekage decided to show something to Sarutobi.

The Kazekage himself was an impostor; Orochimaru had taken the lord's place to oversee the results of his little game. One would have to wonder what hurt more for Sarutobi; the fact that Sand had betrayed him and was now wreaking havoc on his village, or the fact that once upon a time Orochimaru had been one of his students.

The fight that was sure to happen did, as it moved to the rooftop above them so they had more space. Cast away were the proper robes, the hats, and reviled was Sarutobi's full battle dress for the occasion. Orochimaru was in an all black under layer with a tan tunic-like thing over it, tied at the middle with a purple sash in an upturned bow in the back. Sarutobi, his age showing in all, wore samurai like armor.

Their weapons were drawn. The Hokage was armed with a huge black staff, tipped with bronze at either end. Orochimaru, with a sick grin, drew a long katana out of his own gullet.

It was war.

* * *

The cries of war were fuzzy and dull in Fury's mind as she started to come around. Still lying in the very spot where she fell after being bitten, she rubbed the sore spot on her head while lifting herself off of the ground. A thin line of drool went from her mouth to the floor, making her spit to get it off, feeling dizzy and confused.

She started to push herself to her feet, tripping slightly and leaning on the nearby wall, the wall the stranger had held her to. Her eyes opened the rest of the way, looking out beyond the hall she was in. She took another two steps to trip over something, and looked down again. At her feet, Kiba, Akamaru, and Hinata were still knocked out.

Her brain hardly registered this. Something else was coming to her as her senses sharpened up again.

She opened her mouth slightly, her hand feeding up to her shoulder, eyes widening further as she suddenly felt pain. It was like being splattered with oil and then lit on fire, but more so than that... in that fire she felt something else. She could grasp what it was quickly, panting for her agony and digging her nails into the wall she was leaning on.

This strange pain had brought her power. Inside she could feel her chakra, burning bright when she hadn't even gathered it, her thin fingers actually digging trenches into the wall on some new brute force.

Her vision had been tinted slightly red-purple as she looked around. Her eyes didn't hold long on the slumped forms of everyone in the stadium knocked out, seeming to sleep, following shapes that moved. She could see them, all over the place, shapes clashing with other shapes. Konoha Jonin against shinobi she didn't know.

She glanced back at Kiba, feeling the pain intensify along with the feeling of power in her. Where was that shinobi? Who did that? Her mind quickly forgot these questions, turning back out to the stadium, looking into the middle, the battlefield.

Below were more shapes, but her mind didn't recognize them. She left the wall, glancing back and forth, her mind becoming more and more muted as she felt a primal urge to use her newfound power on something... someone... anyone. Her nose flared, eyes narrowed, hands tensed, prowling her way down to the battlefield.

She was hunting. She could feel the power of those around her, but they felt feeble as her new bulk of chakra reached out to them, a strange and acidic aura that followed her, telling her who was weak and who was strong. None of them tempted her to attack. She passed them off, her feet becoming surer as her hunt took her to the rail that separated the people from the fights. She eyed the fifteen-foot drop to the ground, and quickly pushed herself over the rail, landing with ease as if she had jumped no more than two feet.

Her chakra touched on the few figures there, finding power in one of them. She let her eyes focus, and smirked at who she saw.

"Kakashi Sensei..."

The figure she'd focused upon turned. Kakashi had been staring up at the scene on the rooftop, Sarutobi and Orochimaru going at it. Several of Orochimaru's underlings had erected a chakra-based barrier to keep the ABUN black ops from helping the Hokage, so all that could be done was watch.

As Kakashi turned to see Fury, he gasped slightly in shock. Perhaps Fury was not aware of it, but the bite she had gotten from the stranger was just like the bite Loor had gotten from Orochimaru... A curse mark had been put upon Fury's shoulder. It was currently active, spurring out black spits all over Fury's skin, like little black snakes that caused her pain and brought her power, covering her face, shoulder, and her right arm.

"Fury... calm down..." Kakashi glanced around, trying to keep an eye on the advancing girl and another eye out for any of the enemy Shinobi that decided that he made a good target. Sadly, Kakashi only had one eye to do such a job with. Gai sensei, behind Kakashi, had taken notice of Fury and started to come to Kakashi's side, but Kakashi waved him off.

"Calm down...?" Fury smirked, balling her fists. She seemed entertained. "I am calm."

Kakashi glanced at Gai, who nodded, setting to covering Kakashi's ass while he handled Fury.

Fury sensed that Kakashi was gearing up to fight her, and her smirk morphed into a grin, planting her feet into the loose dirt and sparse grass of the battlegrounds. He, likewise, set himself seriously. He didn't pull out his book and start reading like he would have back during training, when he was strong enough to toy with them.

The curse mark made Fury stronger than that. She was more than a force to be reckoned with now.

Instead Kakashi pulled out an overly large kunai knife.

Silence seemed to occur, though the sounds of the invasion all around were loud and clear, alarms going through Konoha to alert the rest of the village of what was happening, battle cries and the sound of weapons clashing together... it all meshed into a seeming silence around Fury's strange and empowered rage.

The two were ready...

"FURY!!"

That's when something else happened.

* * *

Loor had been frantic the whole way back to the main of Konoha, and her feet hurt like hell when she got close enough to start seeing what was going on. Panting, hurting, and a little drained as she kept using chakra to dash, she first realized something was wrong when she wasn't the only one up on the top of the walls.

She doubted her eyes as she saw what seemed to be a few army's worth of people, shinobi, crawling over the walls in the same way she'd done, only these guys were going down the other side to go into Konoha. She witnessed this from afar, where it looked like ants crawling over something to get to a picnic that had been forgotten in the sun. She didn't want to ponder it long, but this strange line didn't seem to end. As she had drawn closer to it, she feared it she'd have to confront these people.

Thankfully, she got to that area after the last of them had gone over. She had to wonder who they were, but her priorities were in a different order at the time.

She didn't slow, she didn't rest, and she didn't stop. She couldn't. Still, there was more horror to pay witness to.

Loor started understanding this as the two walls, the one around Konoha's limits and the one around the main village, began to convene. It was then that she was close enough to see the strange shinobi in the streets, running through houses, on the roofs of buildings...

Their headbands identified them as being from two different villages; Sand and Sound.

She tried to keep a low profile while making her way, and she didn't attract any unwanted attention as she went on. Her sore legs got an extra boost of energy as she could see the stadium. Still, around her, she could hear everything like drums of war. Perhaps that's what all this noise was; as this horror was certainly meant to be bad for the village.

That's when Loor suddenly got it. What the sand siblings had been warning her about. Why Gaara wanted her to run away...

Sand and Sound had invaded Konoha. For what means, Loor hadn't a clue, but the truth was staring her in the face. Gaara was an enemy of Konoha, along with his siblings. If she found him... it would be her duty to fight him.

And if she found Orochimaru, it would be her pleasure to kill him.

She pushed herself harder, peeling her coat off of herself as it was drenched in sweat, fumbling to try it around her waste while running, locked onto her destination, letting off a primal yell as she could see more and more of what was going on in the village.

And in time... she made it. In time, she stood at the top of the bowl that was the stadium, looking down and around. To her side was a huge hole in the wall where a huge summoned snake had crashed through into the village, serving as a bridge for more enemy forces to get in. On the roof the box where the Hokage had sat, Sarutobi was entrapped in some sort of glass fighting ring with none other than Orochimaru.

Below her though, that was what caught Loor's attention even more than the Oro-bastard's presence. She felt it, like the smell of a backed up sewer coming up to her nose and demanding her attention. As she turned her attention down to it's source, she screwed up her face in distaste. She could sense it, almost see it, like a black aura around someone, burning. She knew this feeling...

She felt her jaw drop open before the rage flashed through. That feeling... she knew it so well, even if she'd only gone through it once. That acidic feeling... the curse mark.

She put her hand to her shoulder as she felt her own twinge, as if someone else's activation excited her own. Her rage became more though, seeing who was activated... and whom she was squared off with.

Fury stood, covered in little black marks, ready to do battle with Kakashi.

"FURY!!"

Loor threw herself off of the wall, using the focus technique she'd learned to slow and soften her fall, landing on her feet but sinking to all fours to absorb what shock was left. Her yell had attracted both Kakashi and Fury's attention. With Fury's attention, Loor felt her younger sister's new acid chakra reaching out, touching her, making Loor's mark twitch again, trying to break what was left of Loor's seal.

Loor, still on all fours, yelled and threw herself forward, between to two would be combatants, facing Kakashi, and getting up.

"Loor, get out of the way. You can't handle her."

Loor glared at Kakashi, reaching down to her weapons pouch as a threat. "She's my little sister, I'm the only one who can hand---"

Loor's words froze, her back suddenly arched, her head up. Behind her, Fury had leapt forward. She'd drawn a thin sinbon out of her weapon's pouch, the little needle having punched through Loor's back, missing all the major organs, and coming out of the girls' chest. "Oh..." Fury purred. "You want to fight me first? Bring it on, _Onee-san. _Hit me with your best shot."

Loor's head twisted slightly to look back at Fury, staring. "F...f...Fury...?"

The needle was drawn out, and Loor tripped forward, away from Fury, before turning around to face her. At once, Kakashi tried to hold Loor back, but Loor flicked a hand at him. "She..." Loor was getting over the shock of getting stabbed. "She's my sister."

"Loor, she's more powerful than you right now." Kakashi gave, looking between the girls. He was wondering if he was going to have to uncover his other eye for this.

"No matter..." Loor glanced back at Kakashi. "You can always... seal me up again, right?"

Kakashi suddenly realized what Loor was going to do.

"Loor, don't you dare--"

Kakashi was cut off much like Loor had been, only Fury had come in very quickly... and actually landed a kick to his stomach, making him fly. "Be quiet!" Fury shouted after him, turning upon her sister, holding four sinbons in her hand, one between each finger. "Go on... _Onee-san..._ I could use a real challenge..."

Loor backed up a little bit, panting, and then quickly drew her own weapons out of the pouch on her leg that she'd fallen asleep with, thanks to passing out in the woods. In either hand she held a kunai knife, crouching down into a fighting stance. Fury... this wasn't like her. So brazen, so aggressive... the look on her face was almost evil! Orochimaru was going to pay for this!!

Loor roared, charging at her little sister with both weapons at the ready, feeling the seal on her mark break at long last.

As Fury also came forward, faster than the human eye could see, the two met in close quarters while Loor's curse mark exploded across her skin, the black dots and lines moving out like fire, making her scream while trying to push Fury back. The pain of it brought power with it, making Loor loose her reason.

It made her realize that Fury was going to try to kill her... and she was going to do the same.

Loor took up the same insane grin as she started slashing at her sister instead of trying to push her down, actually catching Fury's shirt and on occasion her younger sister's stomach, making her bleed, smelling it, feeling it, enjoying it. At the same, Fury moved faster than fast, getting behind her sister, or far away, to either throw her little pins or stick Loor with them with the flat of her palm. Loor wasn't hit very often, but when she was she could feel that Fury was aiming for vitals.

Eventually, Fury ran out of things to throw. That's when things got interesting, coming in close. Loor grinned, throwing her own weapons aside, blocking a fist that Fury had aimed at her big sister's face. The bout was high speed, but Fury scored the first blow. She smashed her fist into Loor's nose, coming across, a snapping sound pointing out that the bone had been broken. Honestly, Loor didn't feel it, turning a quick round and kicking Fury in the chest. The smaller girl was knocked off of her feet, rolling in the sand, grunting but just coming back for more.

Kakashi was watching, aware that he could do next to nothing at this point. He could hear more snaps, more bones breaking, though on whom it was hard to say. Blood was splattered here an there as the girls broke apart and dashed back at each other, bellowing and never letting up.

How fitting for it to be held in the Chunnin Stadium.

Slowly, the battle lost steam. More things could be seen properly, that most of Fury's fingers were broken, and her left arm was bent in a strange way, even if she was still making herself use it. Loor's nose was at an odd angle, bleeding from the lip and various other places, little punctures through her stomach and arms.

Loor was the one who ended it, letting off one last primal roar before grabbing Fury by her small shoulders and driving her knee up into her younger sister's rib cage. Kakashi winced. That sounded as painful as it looked.

The marks across Fury's body and face faded, going back to her shoulder and reforming into the mark that had been given to her; what looked like a crescent moon facing up, like a bowl, with a dot in the open space and a smaller dot above that. As her curse faded, she fell to her knees, and then her face. Loor, standing over her, panted as she looked over at Kakashi.

Loor's eyes were on the power craze. She needed something else to attack, but one of her priorities suddenly went through her almost dormant mind. Without the curse mark fading, without care to her injuries, she glared at Kakashi.

"Where... is... Gaara?"

Kakashi seemed a little surprised, and shook his head. "You're not going after him Loor. Sasuke's already gone after him, along with Naruto, Sakura, Shino and Shikamaru."

Loor closed her eyes, breathing, shaking her head. Suddenly, she was right up in Kakashi's face, holding him by his vest, holding the large kunai that he would usually draw out of his own pouch to his neck. "I wasn't asking for permission, sensei... I asked you where Gaara was."

"Loor!" Gai sensei protested, having been watching, coming up to intervene, but Loor shot him a look that froze him.

"His siblings took him that way."

Loor looked back at Kakashi, and then at the hand he had lifted up to point. Away, into the woods, beyond the wall...

"See ya."

And with that... she was gone.

_**End of part one**_

_Find me crouched over  
__In my blood stained past  
__Crying and shivering  
__Over what didn't last  
__Family  
__Comfort  
__All ripped away  
__I'm stronger now  
__And revenge will be his dying day_

_**To be continued...**_


End file.
